HetaOni (Hetalia x Reader x 2P! Hetalia)
by aziaraine2
Summary: A girl given a chance to be with her favourite Hetalia characters...at the cost of being with them in...HetaOni? And...the Second Players are in the mansion, as well? Yes. A story of sadness, danger, pain, and...madness that only HetaOni can give to fangirls everywhere. Meeting Hetalia in a situation like that...will it be worth it?
1. Chapter 1

**-CHAPTER I : The Mansion Where None Should Enter-**

* * *

~Reader's PoV~

Today is the start of our semestral break!~ This two-week vacation before the start of the second semester that'll be filled with stress, sleepless nights, zombified friends, shitload of homework, projects, quizzes, and horrid finals. So that's why I decided to enjoy this time given to me by going out shopping, hanging out with friends at the mall or beach, and start up on the possible lessons we'll tackle next semester!

**HA. AS IF! **

Of course, I'll kickstart this vacation by wasting the whole day surfing the net~ Checking out my tumblr, reading manga, watching anime-oh! Yeah! HETALIA!

I then turned on my laptop that I placed carefully on my bed.

I should productively waste my day today by watching Hetalia!

Oh. But...I've already rewatched seasons 1-5 plus bonus episodes for like...the third *coughfourthfifthlostcountcough* time already... hmm...

Watch Hetalia MMDs? Hmm.. I'm already running out videos to watch ._.

Mhhmm...I should just ask good ol' Google for some fantastic suggestions.

I opened my browser and typed in " " in the URL address box. When the page loaded, I proceeded typing.

Let's see...

He..

Heta...

Oh!

"HetaOni"

Clicking the suggestion, the page loaded once more. It showed links for the HetaOni, some images, YouTube videos...etc.

I've watched this game before on a YouTube channel that had English subs. At first, it didn't peak my interest that much, but as the story went on...it went pretty deep. (That's what she said. Lolsorry)... The story was really beautiful and even brought me to tears. But that was about a year or so ago. I've played an English version of it once, too. Thank goodness for neokyno and Pianodream for the English version. Kudos to them~ Oh, and of course, really thankful for Tomoyoshi. The author of HetaOni. Ah. I love the world.

Though, the sad part is...it has been left unfinished. *insertsadsighhere*

I started to miss the game all of a sudden. Then, I made up my mind.

I'll play HetaOni again for old times sake!

Oh! But I have to prepare for it. Playing games mean staying up loooonggg hours of splendid isolation here in my room. I better go downstairs and get some snacks.

I clicked the download link for the latest version of the game. Downloading...

As the game was being downloaded, I decided to go downstairs and head for the kitchen. As I was quietly foraging for some breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner, someone sensed my presence.

"(Name)? Are you preparing for a hibernation in your room again?" My dear mother asked me. She was standing by the kitchen counter behind me, her arms crossed and her face looking skeptical.

"I-I was..uh..just veeery hungry, mom." I said in a really *convincing* manner. She then raised her eyebrow.

"You better not have forgotten about our trip to your Aunt's house today. We're going to visit her and stay over there for the weekend, remember?" She told me.

Oh shoot. I completely forgot about that! Dangit! B-But my game..and aww...

But of course, I didn't tell my mom that.

"O-Oh, yeah.. How could I forget about that? Hahaha. I'm, er, actually preparing for it right now." I said in yet a very *convincing* manner once more. I was still holding on to my stock of food, though.

"Hmm? Really now? Well, all right.. Just don't forget to pack some clothes, toiletries, essentials, and all the other things you need for our stay there. Got it?" She said.

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, even giving here a salute...using my left hand, though. One, because, that's the Hetalian way. Lol. And another thing would be the food I was holding up with my right arm. My mother than went back to the living room.

"Okie~ Now, do I need anything else from this fantastic contraption called the 'fridge'?" I said to myself as I rummaged through the contents of it once more.

Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. Probably mom again.

"Yes, mom. I'll fix my stuff as soon as I finish eating and-" I turned around but was surprised to see no one. Was it just my imagination? I scanned the room again. My eyes then spotted a pink cupcake with little blue sprinkles on top of it. Where did this come from?

Oh well. Free cupcake.

I grabbed the cupcake, and along with the other food, I headed for my room upstairs.

I checked up on my download. Only 5 minutes left. I decided to fix up the bag that I'll be bringing over to Auntie's house later. I placed *coughthrewcough* my clothes in the bag, toiletries, essentials, etc., chargers, gadgets, the stock of food I got so it wouldn't be a waste, a flashlight for spooky stories with cousins... hmm what else? I couldn't think of anything else so I just threw in whatever I saw in my drawers: a swiss knife, some band-aids? Aw heck, I'll just put in my small med kit in here. Hmm.. And a notebook. So that, if I get bored, I could just draw or write some things down. I mean, Auntie's house is in the woods, so there might not be much to do.

Alrightie~ I'm done with this preparing chiz!

I placed the bag beside me on my bed and I then turned my attention to my laptop. The download's done! I extracted the files and started munching on some biscuits.

I double clicked on the game icon and saw the word "HetaOni" flash on the game window. Of course, I made a "new time loop", meaning a new game.

Hence, the game begins...

_A deserted house in the mountain  
About three hours on foot  
From the world summit place._

_No one knows how long it has been there_  
_Or...who used to live in it_  
_Rumours said that it was...haunted._

* * *

**-CHAPTER I : The Mansion Where None Should Enter-**

* * *

_Italy: Ve~ It's really here!_

_Japan: I thought it was just a rumour. I never thought we would actually find it..._

_Prussia: It has such a desolate feel... Not bad._

_Germany: I don't think it's very interesting though._

_Japan: Me neither. Can't we just look at it from the outside and then go back?_

My fangirl heart was not liking this. Noooo. They're right. They should leave the mansion alone. That's what they should've done in the first place.. but yeah..we can't do anything about it now. I pressed the "z" button again for the game to proceed.

_Italy: Aww~~ After all the trouble we had to find it? C'mon, let's just go in for a little while._

_Germany: ..._

The screen faded out and faded in to show the countries went inside the house. For reals. Sigh.. Nuu..

_Italy: It's cleaner than I thought._

_Germany: H-Hey. Can we go now?_

_Prussia: What's the matter, West? You scared?_

I giggled to myself. It's really fun to see a different side of countries. This wasn't really what I expected from Germany the first time I played the game. This bit still makes me give out a chuckle.

Though my giggle was replace by shock when I pressed the button again. A loud crash was heard. Since I was wearing my earphones and the volume was up pretty high, I was really surprised.

_Germany: !_

_Germany: L-Look, we really should go now._

_Japan: Oh, don't be silly. It's not like there are any ghosts or anything. Where is your common sense?_

_Prussia: Be careful, Japan!_

_Japan: I know. I'll just go see what happened. I'll be right back._

I was then able to control the Japan sprite and guided him towards the kitchen. I remember the shard should be there. As I entered the kitchen, I walked over to the broken plate and pressed the button again.

_Japan: The plate is...broken. I have to be careful not to hurt myself._

_Japan obtains Ceramic Shard_

_Then, I go back from where we started to trigger the event where Japan realises the others aren't there anymore._

_Japan: !?_

_Japan: Did they leave, after all?_

_Japan: How regrettable._

"Oh Japan. That won't be the only regrettable thing you'll experience there." I thought to myself sadly. I decided to lead the Japan sprite towards the Tatami room. I inspected some stuff and found a note.

_The note reads: "Fix the piano, repair the toilet, leave the aid kit in the drawer on the second floor. _

After that, I guided Japan towards the toilet area, when Steve was spotted. I chose to stay calm, because duh. (Even though I wouldn't.) Steve then went through the door, which closed after the monster entered.

_Japan: !?_

_Wha... What was that, just now?_

_I..._  
_Maybe I'm getting tired..._

With that event done, I headed up the second floor and went to the room in the upper left corridor. I walked over to the bed to pick up the whip that Japan identifies as Germany's.

_Japan: Is this not... Germany's whip?_

_What is it doing in a place like this?_

_Obtained: Germany's Whip._

Then I guided the Japan sprite to the room on the upper right corridor. He checks out a certain curtain and finds Germany. A very shaken Germany. Scratch that, a reaalll shaking shaken Germany.

_Japan: G...Germany!_

_...Germany, where are the others?_

_CLACLACLACLACLACLACLAC **shaking**_

"Gee. As much as I want to understand Germany in a time like this.. His change of character is a bit weird. Poor Doitsu." I said whilst munching on more food.

_Japan: ..._

_You look...shaken._

"No shit, Sherlock. ... I'm sorry, I just had to." I said before proceeding in the game.

_Japan: I'll go get you something to drink._

Japan goes outside the room and heads towards the toilet area on the first floor.  
He checks out one of two taps.

_Japan: The tap isn't working. I'll have to look for water somewhere else._

So he sees a toilet.

_  
Japan: ..._

_Well... This IS water too._

_..._  
_Let's not be so hasty._

So he checks the other tap again.

_Japan: Maybe I can get water here?_

_Ah, thank God. It doesn't seem to be broken._

**_Obtained: Water?_**

He then goes back to Germany.

_Japan: Germany, I brought you some water. Drink it, and try to calm down a little._

He then gives the water(?)

_  
Japan: Here. It's not filtered water though..._

_Germany: Is that...really water?_

_Japan: Judging by it's colour...probably..._

_Germany: I see... Anyway, sorry for falling apart like that. I feel much better now thanks to you._

_J: That's good to hear. So, where are the others?_

_Germany: I'm...not sure. At any rate, we ran for our lives... And those two went in different directions... I think._

_Sorry, just...give me a moment to pull myself together._

_Japan: Alright. I'll go look for those two. Try to get some rest._

_Germany: Sorry... Oh, by the way, I found this when I was running. Maybe it can be of some use to you?_

**_Obtained: Key from Germany._**

Japan then goes down to the Library.

_Used: Key._

Suddenly, some eerie music plays. And...the Thing is shown to be walking around. But like, screw you monster thing, this is a library. We should be checking out books, not you.

So, Japan then checks the library out and browses for books.

_Japan: There's so many books here. If I weren't in such a hurry, I would definitely leaf through them._

_Well... Just one won't do any harm, right?_

**_Japan learns Dismissal._**

He then spots an Onigiri on the table.

**_Obtained: Onigiri_**

Then some creepy-ass killer music plays and Steve just dashes towards Japan.

Was it because he took the onigiri?

The Thing then attacks Japan and then they battle. After the battle, the door seems to be locked.

_Dangit, Japan! In this time of need?_

The key was dropped somewhere. Don't worry, the Thing slowed down. I then dashed Japan over to the upper left side of the library to pick up the key that he dropped.. Even if he never went over there. ._.

_J: I found it! It's the key!Now I have to get out of here!_

**Retrieved: Key.**

As I got to the door, a menu popped out asking if I want to use the key to go out.

"Oh mein gott! Of course, dammit! Now let Japan out of thhheeeerreee!" I exclaimed as I opened a pack of chips forcefully for unnecessary dramatic effect.

Got away safely!~  
_  
_

_Japan: ...Wha...What on Earth was THAT thing?!_

I have to find the others as soon as possible.

Someone knocked on my door.

"(Name)? Are you ready to go?" Mom asked from the other side of the door.

"Uh..Y-Yep! Just let me shut down my laptop and I'm good to go!" I said.

"Okay. Be down in 15 minutes." She said. Footsteps could be heard going down the stairs.

I saved my game, shut my laptop down, changed clothes and gathered my stuff.

I gave my room another look before I go. Then I saw something.

**My cupcake!**

I rushed towards the pink pastry and took a bite from it. Oh my god. These are so delicious. I gotta thank mom when I get down.

As I went downstairs, everyone was getting ready to go.

I settled my bag down and went to the kitchen to get a drink. I saw my mom was there, too. She was checking some stuff to make sure she didn't leave anything important.

I poured myself a glass of water and turned to my mother. "Oh, by the way... Thanks for the delicious cupcake you gave me, mom!" I said cheerfully.

She then had a puzzled look on her face. "What cupcake? I didn't make any." She said as I was drinking.

_Wh-What?!_

I almost spit out my drink.

"I-It must be, Dad..." I told her. I rushed to the front door where my father was.

"Dad, you were the one who gave me the pink cupcake, right?" I asked him nervously.

"A cupcake? No, dear. I didn't." He replied.

I was suddenly freaked out. "Then who on earth gave me that delicious cupcake?!" I said with a frustrated tone. My father then looked at me sympathetically.

"Let's not worry about that now, (Name). You said it was delicious, right?" He asked.

I nodded weakly.

"Then praise the Lord! It might be a gift from above!" He exclaimed, nudging me with his elbow.

"Dad..." I gave out a small chuckle.

I went back inside to get my bag. Then I remembered something.

My laptop!

Of all the things to forget (=.=);

I rushed upstairs wearing my bag. It wasn't heavy, anyway. As I went inside my room, I saw my laptop was on my bed. "Silly me. Sorry I almost forgot about you, my dear laptop~" I cooed.

I sat on my bed and placed my laptop in my bag. When I got up, I felt...woozy.

I suddenly felt weak and my vision was getting blurry. What's happening?

But all too soon, the weird feeling faded away and I was feeling back to normal. This is unexplainable, really..

"(Name)! C'mon, dear, we need to go now!" My father shouted.

"I'll be right there!" I called back.

I went out of my room. Before going downstairs, I turned to face my room again.

"See you soon, oh splendid isolation hub of mine~" I said. As I was about to step down a stair.. I heard a faint voice.

**_"I don't think you will, ragazza~"_**

* * *

_/End of Chapter 1/_

* * *

HetaOni's author is Tomoyoshi.  
The English conversation was from the English project of HetaOni by Pianodream and Neokyno.

The reader-insert plot is mine, along with the continuation of the story of HetaOni.


	2. Chapter 2

**-CHAPTER II: Finding Friends- **

~Reader's PoV~

What...was that? I could've sworn I heard someone...

"_? Any minute now, dear? It's going to be a long drive, you know?" My father called out.

"S-Sorry! I'm already going down the stairs!" I said frantically as I rushed down the steps.

-Le Time Skip-

My father wasn't kidding when he said it was a long trip. I spent my time gazing out the window. From the busy streets of the city of (city name) to the tranquil outskirts of it.

"Hey, _. Did you know that your Aunt spent a ton of money to renovate her house?" My mother stated.

"Really? Her house is really huge, right? That must've cost a lot of money." I said.

"Well, you know her. Ever since her husband passed away, she's been spending so much time alone in her house. So when we told her we'd pay her a visit, she was so excited and wanted her house to look 'presentable', though it wasn't really necessary because we came to see her and not the house." My father said.

"But honey, she's also conscious about her looks, too. Though she's in quite her old age already, she puts on a lot of makeup. I told her she should look after her health more than her looks, but she won't listen. I'm kinda worried because her kids are abroad. Too far away." My mother said with a look of deep concern on her face.

"Aww. I thought I'd have some cousins to hang out with?" I said.

My father shook his head. "Sorry, dear. Your cousins are all working now and had to leave your Aunt. That's why we're on our way to give her some company, right?"

I shifted into a more comfortable position in the backseat and stretched my arms. My parents proceeded to talk about work matters, politics and blah blah things I don't need to listen to anymore.

I decided to open my laptop since I was getting quite bored. It won't last that long since I forgot to charge the fricking thing. Why am I cursed with such forgetfulness? This is a real problem.

Once the desktop appeared, I double-clicked on the shortcut for HetaOni and continued my previous game. I was already on the second chapter.

_-CHAPTER II: Finding Friends- _

I controlled Japan and went back to the Library and picked up a key.

__

_Japan: A key? I hadn't noticed it before. Maybe that Thing dropped it during our fight. _

Like, why would a monster even hold keys? :T  
I opened the menu and checked out where the key is to be used.

_Fourth Floor Key: Opens the attic on the fourth floor. _

I then headed for the fourth floor. I saw a red chair, a curtain... what was I supposed to do here? I can't remember..

I inspected some stuff and went to the bookshelf. I revealed an AmeriMochi. I remember now! __

_Japan: Oh, a mochi. Are you stuck?_

_Ah, I can't get you out. Not like this._

_Poor thing... I think Germany might be able to get you out though. I wonder if he would come here for that?_

_Then again, maybe I will have to get HIM out._

_..._

_No._

_Anyway, I'll ask him. _

I went back to the fortress where Germany is located. __

_J: Wha...? Was that door here before? Or is it just my imagination? I'm sure it wasn't an iron door, though... _

Japan then knocks on the now iron door. __

_Japan: Uhm...Germany, do you have a minute?_

_Germany: Is that you, Japan? What's the matter?_

_J: You see, there's a mysterious mochi stuck in a wall in a room on the fourth floor. I feel a little sorry for it, so I was wondering if you could get it out..._

_G: I see. Okay, I'll go and get it out. I just have one favour to ask you, though._

_J: Sure, if it's something I can do._

_G: You see, when I was running, I dropped my whip. I think we should have some kind of weapon in case that THING shows up again. If it's not too much trouble, could you please look for it? _

Lol. A whip. *coughhowkinkycough* __

_J: What a coincidence! Actually, I found your whip a while ago!_

_G: ...Oh._

_J: Wait, I'll pass it to you._

_It was lying on the bed next door._

_G: Oh, I... see... Ahem... Thank you._

_J: Not at all. I only found it by chance, after all. Now let's go to the fourth f-_

_G: Ah! Japan! I'm sorry, but..._

_J: Yes? What is it?_

_G: Ah... I'm really, really sorry, but..._

_Actually, I'm hungry too. Don't you have anything for me to eat?_

_J: To eat... I'm sorry, but I didn't bring any food with me. I don't have anything that could be used as an ingredient either..._

_G: I see! So, if it's not too much trouble, could you please go look for something to eat? _

WAT. DOITSU. This is really getting weird. I mean, Germany...asking for something obviously impossible. I mean, I know the toilet sells food because I've played this game before but... seriously? __

_J: Wh... Whaaaaaaaat?!_

_Th... That's impossible! How could I possibly find any food in this place?!_

_G: Please! I have no strength right now. Anything is fine; just find me something, okay?_

_J: ..._

_Haa...Alright. I'll take another look around. I also have to look for Italy anyway._

_G: I see! Thank you! By the way, did you find my brother? _

I giggled. No. I laughed. Why must my mind work like this? Hahaha. I mean, really... Germany asks for a whip, he asks Japan get something impossible to find in the house, and looks for his brother...not his brother and Italy. I know others will say that's not the case, but that's just me. Lol. Anywho... __

_J: No... But he should be fine. Somehow._

_G: Sorry for all the trouble. Oh! By the way, take this with you._

_J: (A drink?! And beer, at that?!)_

_Ah, thank you very much. I'll be going then._

_G: Okay, thanks. _

Japan then goes to the first floor toilet area. One of the doors were open, so obviously it needs to be checked out. __

_J: Wow, it's pitch black in is the switch?_

_Thing appears and battle begins. It was a close one, I keep on getting stunned and my attacks keep on missing...but I managed to win in the end._

_After battle, Japan obtains a key._

_After that, he purchased Onigiris and Beer from the toilet and fully restored his HP and MP. _

Well ain't that convenie-!

My laptop screen suddenly turned black.. To my dismay, the battery had run out. Dangit! I placed the laptop back in my bag and pouted. Well, it's back to staring blankly out the window. Eventually, my eyes began to slowly droop and I fell into a deep sleep.

-

When I woke up, I realised that our car was already parked. I looked out the window and saw that we were in a forest. It seems like we're finally here.

"Mom, is this the pl-" I stopped.

There was no one in the car. Well, they must've brought their bags inside the house already. I put on my bag and got out of the car. I scanned the area. It looks so empty. Maybe Auntie didn't have the place renovated, after all. As I walked towards the front door, I looked at the huge house before me. It's been years since I've been here, but... it looks so different..? Does time really change things that much?

The front door was open so I went inside. Where are my parents? My Aunt? There should be people down here, right? The door then closed behind me. I tried to open it again, but...it won't budge.

"Wh-What the?!" I said frantically. I was literally freaked out right now. Though, the situation seems oddly familiar... I tried to use my cellphone to call my mother.

... No signal...

Great.

When I turned away from the door, someone was there... but that person gave me a shock of a lifetime.

No. way.

I looked at the slim man before me. He had black hair and brown, nonreactive eyes. He was wearing an all-white uniform with a sword by his side...and a couple of onigiris and beers in his hands. It's...Japan?... I had a very surprised look on my face. He seemed to be shocked to see me, as well.

"A-Ano... How did you get in here?" He asked slowly.

"I... I thought... I thought that this was my Aunt's house...so I went inside...but... it l-looks like I-I...can't get out..." I said, my voice was trembling. I was realising what this situation is... This unimaginable situation...

"Oh dear. This is really bad. Uhm... I'm here, so please calm down..." Japan said as he approached me. He had a look of concern and worry.

Is this a dream? I pinched my self... It hurt. God. Oh no. I then gave out a heavy sigh.

"Please don't leave me alone." I pleaded.

"O-Of course, I won't. Now, there there... Unfortunately, I don't know how to get out of here either.. and I've been looking for my other friends who are in this house, as well. But worry not. We'll find a way out together." He said.

"Th-Thanks..." I said. I still have no idea if all this is real or not...but what he said was kind of reassuring, so I began to calm down. The man took a step back.

"Ah. Allow me to introduce myself. I am.."

Part of me wanted him to be that character from my favourite anime...but the other part of me knew...that if it really was him...and we're here...locked up in this mansion... It could possibly mean my end...

"...Japan" He said.

I shiver went down my spine and I'm began to feel weak. I started to stagger a little. Japan saw this and went to help me regain balance. Some of the onigiris and cans of beer fell on the floor.

"A-Are you alright?" He asked.

I nodded weakly. "Yeah.. Sorry about that.."

I picked up the food that he dropped and he did the same. "You can put these in my bag if you want." I told him.

He smiled at me and nodded. "That would be very helpful. Thank you uhm...?"

"_ _. But just call me by my first name." I told him.

"Oh. Alright, then. Thank you, _-chan." He said.

He then leaded me up the stairs. He told me he found a key but he doesn't know which door it opens yet. If this was really... dare I say... HetaOni...then I'll have some knowledge on what to do next...as long as I remember it. But...will they actually believe me if I told them that from I'm from, they're fictional characters and that this was a fanmade game..? Probably not.. But...I need to help in some way... I need to get out of here, too...

"Uhm, Japan...can I take a look at that key?" I asked.

He nodded and handed the key to me. I was a bit shocked when I saw some sort of menu pop out of thin air. It said: __

_"Bedroom Key: Opens the bedroom on the second floor" _

I cannot believe this. It's like I'm still playing the game. If that's true, then... can I check on the inventories and statuses of people at will, as well?

I tried to wave my hand in front of me. A small menu popped up in front of me!

It showed the same menu from the game. Items, Skill, Equip, Status, ATP Options, Money... It even showed Japan. He was labelled, "Master of Reading Moods". He was at level 2 and his HP and MP was still full. I was amazed. What made me more amazed was that I was also displayed in the menu...

But I was labelled as... "Unidentified Player". I was at level 3 and just like Japan, my HP and MP were full. Why am I labelled like that..?

As I was thinking about many things, Japan suddenly spoke up.

"Ano... _-chan..you've been spacing out for a while now. Is something wrong?" He asked.

I suddenly snapped out of it and looked at Japan. "Japan...you don't see it?"

He tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

So he can't see it, huh... I changed the subject and perked up a little.

"N-Nevermind! Uhm, this looks like a bedroom key, so let's check over there!" I said as I pointed to the bedroom where I know Prussia will be in.

"Alright." Japan said.

As we reached the door, I gave the key back to Japan. He placed the key through the lock and we heard a small click.

"Oh. It is for this door." He said.

He opened the door and allowed me to go in first. There I saw a man with silvery hair wearing a dark blue uniform stood facing away from us. He's really...Prussia..

After Japan closed the door, he slowly approached the albino...

Shit. I almost forgot!

Before he got near the other man, I grabbed Japan by the sleeve and asked for the key. He gave it to me and I quickly hurried to lock the door. Phew. I watched the two from afar.

Japan was about to tap Prussia's shoulder or something, but Prussia swiftly turned around with a sword in hand.

"Hh!Who's there!?"

"Woah!C-Calm down! It's me!"

"Oh, it's you Japan?Ah... Sorry"

"Are you alright?"

"Th-There was a monster! I saw it!Ah, a stark naked giant with the color of a rotten scone!"

I stifled a giggle at his description.

"It's true! We all saw it!Me, and West, and Italy too!"

"Yes, I know."

"Before I knew it, I'd wound up two... I don't know where they I making any sense?"

"Yes, quite. That does make sense.I saw it, too."

"What the hell is that THING?O... Oh! And what happened to the others?! And...and... Who's that frau over there?" Prussia then pointed at me.

I waved nervously.

"Ah.. This is _-chan." Japan motioned me to move closer to them and I did so.

"Nice to meet you, frau. I am the AWESOME PRUSSIA. Kesesese!" He said gallantly as he shook my hand.

"N-Nice to meet you, too.." I said. I was still torn between fangirling because I'm meeting Hetalia characters...and being terrified because this is HetaOni...

"So... you got stuck here in this house, too, huh?" He said symphatetically.

"Yeah..." I replied.

"Did...you see that monster...?" He asked slowly.

I haven't seen Steve yet...but I know that he's here...so I should just tell them I did.

"Yeah...I did..." I said quietly.

"Mhm.. Don't worry! The awesome me is here to protect you! We'll get out of here in no time." He told me as he ruffled my (h/c) hair a bit.

"Thanks..." I said.

"Anyways, Japan... about the others?" Prussia said, turning to his friend.

"Germany is on this same claimed he was ... I haven't found you have any idea where he might be?" Japan asked.

"What!? Italy's missing!?Do you think he was attacked by that monster?"

"We can't be 100% sure..But he's very fast and good at running away.I do believe he managed to escape somehow."

"All right! Then I'll look for him too!But first, let's go where West is. What's he doing anyway?"  
"He said he was too hungry to move. Prussia, don't you have anything for him to eat?

"Something to eat...Now that you mention it, I did find some mushrooms while I was running that do?"

"That should do."

I suddenly spoke up. "U-Uhm, I've got lots of food in my bag, too." I told them.

Prussia gave me a thumbs up. "Good job, frau! All right! Then let's..."

He became silent for a while.

I remembered what was going to happen, so I hurriedly went behind Prussia and clutched his sleeve.

"You...hear it too, huh?" He asked. I simply nodded.

Japan gave us a puzzled look. "What's the matter?"

"Don't you hear the sound of something...getting... closer?" Prussia asked.

Japan then tried to observe and listen to his surroundings.

"Hey, say...If that thing on your waist isn't just for show, pull it out of its sheath. If you don't want to be eaten, that is. And we've got a frau here to look after." Prussia told Japan.

"Agreed." The Japanese man replied.

The doorknob began clacking. Thank goodness I remembered to lock the door. After a while, there was only silence.

"...Is it gone?" Prussia asked.

"Yes, probably." Japan stated.

"All right. That was a little scary, but now we should join West. Let's find Italy and get out of here as soon as possible!"

"Indeed."

"C'mon, frau. Let's go." Prussia told me.

"Guys... I think you should still prepare yourselves..." I told them.

"What do you mean?" Japan asked.

Before I was able to answer, Prussia already opened the door... to reveal a giant alien-like monster. This seriously scared the shit out of me, even though I expected it.

They then began to fight the monster. I was there behind them.

"Waah!I thought it was gone!" Prussia shouted.

"Apparently not." Japan said.

"The more I look at it, the scarier it looks!I can't use my awesome techniques like this!Do something!" Prussia said frantically.

Dangit.. Isn't there anything I can do?

I suddenly remember what I did a while back. I waved my hand in front of me and a screen appeared once more. It was the battle scene, only it's in the same graphics as the game. Japan was using his skill, Dismissal. Prussia, on the other hand, was using his Bear the Cross skill. I was also there on the screen, but I had no attack or skills. Though it seems I can use defend and items. While I was checking on the items, the monster hit Japan. I saw that his HP was getting low. Prussia's HP was still okay, but he's already out of MP.

I opened my bag and grabbed an onigiri and beer that was placed there. I then cautiously went beside Japan.

"_-_-chan.. Stand back, you'll get hurt." He instructed me.

"I will, don't worry. But first, you need to eat this." I told him.

"Uh.. Japan, I can't hold up much longer." Prussia said as he was attacking the monster.

"S-Sorry, Prussia. Anyways, _-chan..I'll eat that later.. As you can see, we're in the middle of something." He told me.

"Nu-uh. You're already feeling weak. Now eat the onigiri already." I told him sternly.

He gave up and ate the rice ball. After that, I checked the menu. His HP recovered by 500. I smiled to myself.

"Wow. I'm starting to feel strong again. Thank you." Japan said before attacking the monster.

This time, Prussia was blown back by the monster. His HP isn't that low yet, though. I gave him a can of beer.

"Uh. Frau, as much as I love beer, I need to fight that ugly monster. So stay put, okay?" He told me.

"You can't fight if you don't have energy. Now, drink." I told him, my arms crossed.

"A-Alright, then..." He said before gulping down his drink.

"Aah~ Woah! You're right, I do feel energised now!" He said. After that, he began attacking the monster with his skill.

After a few more attacks on the monster, they eventually won. The monster didn't disappear though, but it was slowed down.

"Quick, let's go to the room where Germany is." Japan said.

We all rushed towards the room. We went inside and closed the door. Safe. For now, that is.

"This is the fortress where Germany is." Japan said as he pointed at the iron door.

"It's pretty solid. Hey, West! Japan told me you were hungry. D'you want some mushrooms? Or food or something?" Prussia asked.

A low voice was heard from the other side of the iron door. "Is that you, Prussia?Are you all right!?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!But I have bad news! Italy is still missing! And we have to help a mochi." Prussia replied.

After that, a tall, burly man with blue eyes and blonde hair went out of the, er, closet? Whatever. I knew that that man was none other than Germany.

"Hmm. All right. I'm done here, so we can go now. But...bruder, who's the frau?" He said.

Once again, I waved nervously.

"Ah! West, this is _!.. _, this is my younger bruder, Germany." Prussia said proudly.

"You're...locked up in here like us, huh?" He said sadly.

"Yeah...but I hope I can help as much as I can to get us out of here." I told him.

He then gave a smile. After that, he turned to Japan. "Can we come back here once in a while?" He asked.

Japan nodded. "I don't mind, but...Do you actually like those narrow spaces?"

"Well, you could say that I'm... used to 's a lot of room, though." Germany replied.

"I don't really get what we're supposed to do, but let's go to the fourth floor!" Prussia exclaimed.

Hence, all four of us headed for the fourth floor. It was reealllyy tiring. I wish I had a shift button here somewhere =.=

On our way up, Prussia remembered something.

"Ah! Before I forget, I really need to thank you, frau!" Prussia said as he placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a bright smile.

"Huh? What for?" Germany asked.

"Well, you see West-when we were battling the Thing, she made us eat some food. At first, we thought we didn't need to, but it actually helped us quite a lot! Kesesesese!" Prussia explained.

"That's right. I express to you my gratitude, _-chan. You really helped us there. But...how did you know that we needed it?" Japan asked.

Uh-oh.. I don't know if I could tell them the truth... Mhhm...

"W-Well..I didn't really want to just stand there and play the damsel in distress... So I observed you guys from afar and...calculated what you guys would be needing and stuff..." I told them.

"That's a good skill for a soldier." Germany said approvingly.

"Haha..t-thanks, I guess.." I said quietly.

We all stopped at the attic door on the fourth floor. Japan had the key, so he opened it again.

-

"Well?" Japan asked.

Germany was trying with all his might to get the AmeriMochi out.

"It's stuck pretty you do it, West?" Prussia asked.

(OoH! That's what he said. Lol)

"Huggggnn! ...Sorry, I can't do it with my bare hands. Maybe if I had some kind of tools." Germany stated.

Japan then began to think of something. "A tool...Well, it's a big house. I'll take a look around."

"Yeah, I would be really thankful if you could find something useful." Germany said.

"Oh, well. I guess we'll have to split up again to look for it." Prussia said.

The AmeriMochi suddenly reacted unpleasantly towards Germany. To the surprise of the burly man. "Ngggh... Wooaaaaargh!"

"Awesome face." Prussia said, amused.

"Well then I'll be going ahead. I'll come back as soon as I find anything good." Japan said.

"Ah! Can I tag along, Japan?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded. "Sure. Come on, let's go."

I smiled back and walked over to him.

Prussia then spoke up. "I think I'll go, too. Actually I haven't looked around very much. Might as well do some exploration!"

"Thanks." Japan said.

**Parted from Germany and Prussia.**


	3. Chapter 3 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER III: The Allies (Part 1)- **

~Reader-chan's PoV~

Japan and I venture to the other room on the same floor. There, we found a lever.

A sign reads: __

_Up is Heaven.  
Middle is Earth.  
Down is Hell. _

So, I push the lever down. The lever breaks, and then a hole is revealed on the floor.

While Japan was inspecting the floor, I _accidentally_ pushed him down and I followed suit. We landed in the piano room on the floor below. Japan inspects the piano and even plays something on it.

"Oh wow. It's not off-tune yet." I remarked.

"Amazing, isn't it? Now that we're here, let's go check out the other rooms on this floor." Japan said.

We went outside and entered a room which seems to be a library. There, I saw a man wearing a blue military uniform, what made him more noticeable was his curl sticking out from his brown hair. I retreated back outside the door to the library.

Japan was curious as to why I retreated.

"_-chan..? Is the monster there again?" He asked nervously.

I shook my head slowly. "N-No...there's a person..." I told him. After that, he hurriedly went inside the library.

I know him... this person is none other than...

"Italy!" I heard Japan say as he went inside the room.

I went closer to the doorway and peeked inside. The two began conversing.

"Japan! You're okay!" Italy exclaimed.

"Yes, thank God. Somehow." Japan said, relieved.

"Right after you left, a monster suddenly appeared from the hallway and came after us. Germany was the first to ... heard him, didn't you?" He said, tilting his head to the side.

Japan shook his head. "No, not at all..."

"I see. Germany's scream surprised me, too, and I was too confused at the time and

tried to run away and leave you behind. I'm sorry, Japan...

But the front door wouldn't open no matter what and we split up while running away." Italy said with a sullen look on his face.

"No need to apologise. Anyone would have done the same ina situation like me.

Still... what on Earth is going on in this house? The exit door and the windows can't be opened. Our cell phones don't work, either." Japan said.

"Yep. It looks like we're locked up.. But! I'm so glad I found you, Japan! Aren't you hurt or anything? Aren't you hungry?" Italy asked with a worried look.

"I'm fine. But... you're surprisingly calm about this, Italy. You were even wandering around the house..." Japan said.

"Well... When that monster appeared,I wanted to cry and cling to Germany, but...Well, both Germany and Prussia were falling apart, too.

So I figured someone needed to keep a level head, and even I was amazed by how calm I felt!

And then I began to look around for everyone so we could get out of here as soon as possible!" Italy said.

Japan nodded. "That makes sense...I was startled at first, too, but after seeing everyone else so flustered, I felt oddly calm."

"So, what about Germany and Prussia? Haven't you found them yet?" Italy asked.

"No, I've found 're on the fourth floor, but I'll explain the details on the way.

They were both very worried about 'd better go and let them see you as soon as possible." Japan told him.

"Ah, okay! Let's go together, then! I found some stuff when I was exploring, so I'll leave them with you. I also made pasta~ You can have that, too." " Italy said.

A small menu screen popped in front of me. __

_Italy joined the party._

_Received from Italy: Beer x 3 Onigiri x 5 150 HETA._

_Fully restored HP and MP with Italy's refreshments. _

The two countries walked over to the door. Suddenly, the Italian saw me and spoke in a surprised tone. "W-Wha? What's this bella ragazza doing h-here?!"

Once again, I did my signature awkward wave. "Uh..H-Hi.." I said shyly. I suddenly looked at the floor as if it was the most interesting in thing in the world.

"Ah. Italy, this is _ _. _-chan, this is my comrade, Italy." Japan said.

Italy fell silent for a while. I looked at him in the eye this time. He had pure confusion written all over his face...and I knew why. He must be thinking 'this isn't supposed to happen!' or something. I know that I wasn't supposed to be here either.

I don't belong here...but I can't just tell them that right now. I can't even tell Italy. What if he'll do something crazy again or whatnot? I should play my role. I'm just a player here... The rest of the story...must continue on. Though the alterations...I leave it to what may happen.

"A-Ano..." Japan said quietly.

Italy snapped out of his confused state and began to give his oblivious smile.

"Ve~ Ciao, bella! Fancy meeting you here! Though I wish I could've met you somewhere nicer like in a restaurant or something. I'm Italy, by the way! Ah, Japan already told you that, huh? Ehehe~" He said as he extended his hand.

"O-Oh. Uhm, ah..Nice to meet you, Italy." I managed a smile and shook his hand.

"Alright, then. Let's go back to the fourth floor." Japan said.

Italy and I nodded and walked up side by side up the stairs. Japan was leading the way.

Though, while we were walking up...I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye...Italy's look of worry, confusion, and maybe even helplessness...

It's because of me, isn't it? Me being here is something that never happened in any of the time loops he's been... Daggers of guilt began to hit me just as much as the pained expression on the Italian's face. I... want to do at least something...

I grabbed his arm and gave it a light squeeze. He looked at me and spoke, "Wh-What is it, bella?"

I took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Look... I don't know what you're going through right now...but I'm here. Please don't be sad... I don't want to see you giving such a pained expression anymore..." I told him quietly.

Italy suddenly stopped and gave another confused look, but quickly changed it and gave a smile instead. "...Thanks, bella. That's really...kind of you, but I'm really fine!~" He said.

I let go of his arm and looked away and spoke "...Okay.."

When we reached the 4th floor, the Thing was there.

Japan was shocked as he saw the monster.

"AAAACK!Japan!The THING! It's the THING!" Italy shouted.

Prussia suddenly turned to us and gave a stern look. "Tsk... You came too soon!  
Japan, take Italy and _ with you and run!"

Germany turned to us as well and suddenly looked relieved as he saw his friend. "Italy! You're all right!"

"G-Germany~ Ve...Your face looks weird..." Italy said out of context.

"Me and West will take care of this!Just go, quickly!" Prussia instructed.

Japan did not move.

Prussia saw this and frantically shouted, "Japan!"

Japan drew his sword and spoke, "My, my...I must be losing my hearing in my old age. I can't hear you at all."

"Wha...!?Huh?! Hey, Italy! _!" Prussia shouted once more, wanting all three of us to get away.

"Oh, um... I suddenly got deaf, too!" Italy said.

"Uhm..I may not be able to attack it...but I still have these." I said, holding up the food from my bag.

"Italy?! _?!" Prussia said, exasperated.

Italy suddenly took a step forward. "Now that you mention it~ We've been in peace for a while now, so I'd completely forgotten about it~"

"It is my honourable duty to fight along with you. Let's go. " Japan said.

Italy nodded. "Y-Yeah!"

The two went beside Prussia and Germany and they all began to fight. I standing a few paces behind them. I waved my hand in front of me and monitored them using the menu screen that appears before me. If I see someone's HP getting dangerously low or their MP not being enough to put damage on the monster, I'd give them an onigiri or beer, just as how it should be in the game. After a long battle, the monster suddenly disappears.

"It's gone..." Japan said, panting.

"Ve~ It really IS a ghost..." Italy remarked.

Germany than ran over to his friend. "Italy!"

"Are you hurt?" Japan asked us.

Prussia looked at us in disbelief. "The hell?! You guys totally ignored what I said!"

"I thought the two of us alone could do something about it...Sorry. You really helped. Are you okay, too?" Germany asked.

"Yep. But I'm so relieved now!You two ran away really fast, so I'd been wondering what had happened to you." Italy replied.

"What about you, frau? Are you really okay? We were facing a giant monster and you didn't even look as shaken as West!" Prussia exclaimed.

"I'm fine, thanks...and u-uh..well.. I have seen it for a couple of times now.. And, uhm...you guys are here with me, anyway. " I told him.

"Kesesese! Brave girl! And you're right! The awesome me and the not-so-awesome-but-will-do them are here! " Prussia said, patting my shoulder.

Japan gave a sigh of relief then spoke, "I am really glad that everyone is all right. Now, what are we going to do from here?"

"Yeah. The Thing could show up here again, so we should move to a room that is as safe as possible. Besides, if the five of us stick together, it won't be so scary." Prussia said.

Germany nodded. "Good idea, Prussia! Now, let's search for a room that looks as safe as possible. And let's not split up, of course."

Italy smiled and gave a salute. "Roger, Captain!"

**All joined the party. **

I started to recall what we were supposed to do next. Then, I spotted the curtain in the room and remembered that there would be a Wooden Box there.

"Guys, I found a wooden box here." I told them.

"Oh. Let's keep it, we might need it later." Italy said.

A small menu appeared before me and stated that the item was added to the inventory.

When we went out of the room, Italy pointed to the other room on the floor and told us to "check it out". I knew what he was up to, so I played along as well.

The guys inspected the room and I walked "aimlessly" towards the lever.

"Hey, Japan. This lever from before...it seems to be fixed now." I told him.

Japan then went over to the lever and inspected it and said, "Oh. You're right, _-chan. To where should we pull it? We already know what down would do.."

"Ha. Well...I don't think we'd want to go to 'Heaven' yet." I joked.

"The Earth, then..?" Japan said and pulled the lever to the middle. "Ah! The lever

broke."

A key then falls from above and apparently lands on Prussia's head. "Ow. My awesome head got hit by something!" He exclaimed. He then saw the key and picked it up.

"Oh~ A key. We should look for the room it'll open." Italy said.

A small menu appeared.

_Obtained: Second Floor Key_

We head downstairs to the second floor and open the lower door on the upper right corridor.

_Used: Second Floor Key. _

"There is something under the table." Germany says.

_Obtained: Match Box._

We were about to leave when I remembered something.

"Hey, Japan... I saw a note downstairs earlier. It said something about repairs and stuff...but I remember it said something about a first aid kit here somewhere..." I said as I was opening up the drawers in the room.

"Ah! Here it is!" I said as I opened the second drawer. I then gave the kit to Germany and he applied some bandages on his hand, Prussia got an awesome band-aid, Japan applied some medicine for a little cut and Italy, well he just helped out and said "Ve~"

As usual, a menu popped up before me.

**The whole party recovered.**

We then go to the upper room on the lower right corridor.

When we were all in, Germany turned to us and asked, "Should I lock the door?"

**"LOCK IT FIRMLY."** I told him in a stern voice.

Prussia then sat on one of the chairs. I sat across him. "We can't get too careless, but I think we're safe here, for have the key, and the door is firmly locked from inside." The albino said.

Japan placed a hand on his chin. "It is only temporary, but it should do for one night, I suppose..."

"One night is good enough for me.I'm really tired from running around~" Italy chirped.

Germany nodded. "You're right. We ran a lot for one day. It makes me feel like having some beer..."

"Oh. I still have some here. Would you like some?" I asked.

Germany turned to me. "A-Ah. Is...there still enough for later?"

I looked into my bag, "There's about five more. And we can look for more later." I told him.

"Ah. Then, I'll have just one can." He said.

"Oi! What about me? I want some beer, too!" Prussia said.

Germany looked at his older brother and held up the can "Let's just share this one, bruder."

I rummaged through my bag again. I found some chips that I was unable to finish eating and munched on it. It was stale, but hey, I had no choice. I wanted to leave the other food for later.

Suddenly Italy spoke up,"I'm a little cold...I wonder if it's because of this house?"

"If I'm not mistaken, we found some is also enough firewood for one night,so we can warm up." Japan said.

Germany stood up. "Hm. I'll do it, then."

Prussia smiled at me. "Ooh! That's nice, huh?" I smiled back and nodded.

"Yes. I feel much better now that we have some light. And now I'm not alone, either." Germany said.

"Yeah~ But it was really scary at first! Even though Germany was the first to run away, it was me that monster chased after!" Italy said.

I didn't want to look at Italy in the eye so I just pretended to check up on my bag again.

"Yeah, you're right. I remember thinking 'No, not my precious little Italy!' and then both the monster and Italy disappeared! And West had vanished, too." Prussia told us.

Germany looked a little embarrassed and spoke, "I hate supernatural things! B-besides...it's not like I just ran and hid? Well, never mind now. As long as we're all okay, it doesn't matter."

Japan agreed. "Yes, exactly. Besides, rather than think about how we acted in the past, we should discuss what to do from now on."

"I see. We can only conclude that that monster has really made us prisoners here. Though, having no way out is what really bothers me..." Germany stated.

"Indeed... I really wish I could go home. I've been waiting for several games that will be released soon..." Japan said.

Italy gave a pout. "Me, too. I can't eat pasta or pizza like this!"

"Mhhm..." I said quietly as I found a brush and decided to fix my (h/c) hair.

"Um, hey, you keep talking about a way out...If all the exits are locked, why don't we just make one ourselves?

Didn't you do that when you were prisoners of war, too? It's time to put that into practice now!" He exclaimed.

Japan stifled a giggle. "Huhu. That brings me memories, too. I miss those times when I kept trying to commit seppuku."

"Germany worked hard to make a way out for us. But this time, I'll do everything I can,too!" Italy said.

"I...I'll help out, too." I said.

They turned to me and smiled.

"Aw. Thanks, frau. You've been doing a good job so far, too! Just..be careful when going about the mansion, okay?" Prussia said. I smiled and nodded.

"Ve~ Don't worry, bella! You're going to get out of here!" Italy told me.

I looked a Italy in the eye and spoke, "You're going to get out of here, too. All of us will."

Italy's face suddenly saddened for a short moment and then went back to normal.

He smiled and quietly said, "O-Of course..."

Germany then spoke up, "All right, all right. So, the plan for tomorrow is to make a way out. We can't forget about that."

"Right. Well, now, I don't know what time it is, but let's sleep here tonight." Japan said.

"My watch broke when I wasn't looking, too!" Italy remarked.

I checked my own watch and noticed that mine is broken as well.

"Wait. Won't it be dangerous if we all go to sleep? I think one of us should stay up to keep watch." Germany suggested.

Japan nodded. "You definitely have a point. So, shall we play janken to decide fairly who will keep watch tonight? Well, with the exception of _-chan, of course. She needs to rest for the night."

"Thanks." I said.

"Right. Oh, but uhm.. Jan..ke? What are the rules?" Italy asked.

"Well, er... It's a very simple play by showing three types of hand-signs..." Japan explains.

"Whatever, let's do it already! I'm really tired! I wanna sleep!" Prussia said, exasperated.

"Prussia, wait just a little." Germany scolded his older brother.

"-and Rock beats can throw Rock, Scissors, or Paper." Japan said.

"Ah, it's a little like "La Morra".Okay, I got it, Japan! Let's do it!" Italy said.

Japan agrees. "Let's go, then.

Jan

...ken

..."

-

~Third person PoV~

After the game of Janken, Prussia lost and was made to keep watch for the night while the four went to sleep. Germany was at the far left, beside him was Italy, next to him was Japan and _ was at the far right end.

Prussia then spoke to himself. "Aah...Seriously, it's so fun being alone...

But those three, they really sound asleep...

Haaa...If only I had my computer, I could update my blog. Now all I can do is take pictures of their sleeping faces.

It's just... their serious faces... They looked awesome.

I couldn't resist them. ...

_Sniff sniff..._

I'm kinda... cold. The fire is... strong enough. What the hell!? I just felt a chill running down my spine..."

Suddenly, the loud knocking of the door and incessant clanking of the knob was heard.

"Th-!

L-

Look, this isn't funny.I'm just... hearing things, right?

There's no one here! No one!Why aren't those three waking up!?

Can't they hear anything!?"

~Back to Reader-chan's PoV!~

My eyes suddenly fluttered open as I felt a change in temperature and heard Prussia saying something aloud.

"Hah! That's it! I'll use Japan's strategy and pretend I'm not here! If I turn off my aura, I won't be found!" I hear him say.

What's going on...?

AH! It's this scene... I suddenly remember. Dangit. Why didn't I remember this sooner?

I was about to get up from the bed when...I realised that...

_I was paralysed._

Shit. What's this?! I can't move...Nor can I talk?!

"...I guess I can't do it. Right, I have no choice then..." Prussia says.

From the corner of my eye, I see him walk over to the door.

"Forgive 's tough being alone." He said.

I am trying with all my might to get my body to move... Why can't I move, damnit?!

"...SHIT! No!I won't die yet!" Prussia yells.

As soon as he went out of the room, I was able to move. I grabbed my bag, hurriedly put on my shoes and tried to open the door...

*clankclank*

"What?!" I said out loud. Why won't the door open?!

Suddenly, I hear a blade cutting through something...and something collapsing.

God... I can't remember what happens here...

I kept on frantically trying to open the damn door.

Then I heard a *click*

I opened the door and shouted, "Prussia?! Are you oka-..."

No one.

There was no one there out the door.

That is, until I went out and turned to my right.

_What I saw made my face grow pale._


	4. Chapter 3 (Part 2)

**-Chapter 3: The Allies (Part 2)- **

_As soon as he went out of the room, I was able to move. I grabbed my bag, hurriedly put on my shoes and tried to open the door..._

*clankclank*

"What?!" I said out loud. Why won't the door open?!

Suddenly, I hear a blade cutting through something...and something collapsing.

God... I can't remember what happens here...

I kept on frantically trying to open the damn door.

Then I heard a *click*

I opened the door and shouted, "Prussia?! Are you oka-..."

No one.

There was no one there out the door.

That is, until I went out and turned to my right.

What I saw made my face grow pale.

~Third Person PoV~

**You can not easily set foot into that "mysterious mansion" in your town.**

Because if you anger its former occupant, you will not get away lightly...

Especially when there are

**_no_**** people there... **

((EARLIER...))

The Allies show up in front of the haunted mansion.

"It's really here!" China exclaimed as he looked at the huge mansion.

England spoke, "I thought it was just a rumour. But it's actually here..."

"The desolate feel gives it a rather...nice touch, vous ne trouvez pas?" France smiles.

"I don't think it's very interesting though." Canada says in his usual soft voice.

"Did you just hear a voice just now?" America said (jokingly, probably.)

Russia laughed. "Oh, America, you tease~! We didn't hear anything, did we?"

Canada just squinted his eyes in silence.

America then crossed his arms. "Still...It doesn't really look like a very fun place."

"Well, why don't we take a little look inside and then go back? I think we can leave before nightfall." Russia suggested.

"Yeah! I don't want to stay too long, either!" China agrees.

"Eh bien, alors, shall we go in?" France asks.

They all proceeded inside the mansion. Canada, America and Russia were at the first floor, while the others were upstairs.

"The rumors say that there're ghosts here, da? That's why, nobody comes near the place..." Russia states.

America nods. "No wonder. It's such an eerie place."

Canada notices something off about his brother. "Huh? How unusual of you, America. Are you scared?"

America shook his head. "No, but it's a little...Hey, where is everyone?"

"Um...They said they would leave the first floor to us, and then they went right up to the second floor." Russia told them.

America then spoke, "Hmmm...Then we'll...-"

In a flash, the Thing is seen to ambush the trio.

"It's cleaner that one would expect, isn't it?" France says.

England shuffles nervously. "Y, yeah, but...Um, can we go now?"

"What's the matter, England? Are you scared?" France teases.

England brushes off the Frenchman. "O-Of course not, you idiot! That's not it!It's just that this place is sort of..."

China shook his head. "Haaa... It's silly. There are no ghosts here or anything. You can go back."

"Hey, hey, are you going to look around on your own?" France asks.

"I'll just peek into this room over smells a little bad." China replies.

"What? Isn't that a little risky-Hey, w-wait!" England calls out frantically.


	5. Chapter 4 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER IV: Gunshots (Part 1)- **

~Third person PoV~

"I can't help but have a very unpleasant feeling about this place..." France said. He then notices a certain British man being uncharacteristically silent, so he turns to him and spoke,

"You've been really quiet for a while 's wrong? Is there something strange here?"

"...No... There's nothing

... or _no one_ at all." England replies.

"Russia and the others are on the first floor." China said.

"Yes, I know I said there's no one here at all, I meant...How should I put it?

It feels... as though everything has been

..._consumed_..." England says slowly.

France then tilts his head. "You mean you can't see the usual illusions? If even illusions have been consumed, maybe we really should keep out."

"I agree. In that case, I'll go and take a look are you going to do, Opium?" China asks.

"I don't really want to stay on this floor. I'll go upstairs, too." England replies.

France pouts. "You're both leaving me here all alone? Well, then, when you're done checking out upstairs, we'll meet again here."

China nods. " All right, then we'll leave the second floor to you."

"30 minutes should be enough. Don't fall asleep on us, France." England says skeptically.

"You can trust me~ Well, see you later." France says as he walks over to a room by the far end of the hall.

~England's PoV~

"Are you going to start from that room over there?" China asks France.

"Oui~ That room is bad news, isn't it? I'll leave it for later!" France replies. He then enters the room and closes the door behind him.

"Let's go upstairs, then, aru." China says as he turned to me.

I nodded. "Right, let's-"

Suddenly, the door behind China bursts open and we hear someone shout.

"Prussia?! Are you oka-..."

It was a young girl with (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes. She was wearing a bag over her left shoulder and looked really frantic. She suddenly turned to us and her face grew pale.

"Wh-What are you doing here, miss..? Are you okay?" China asks the young lady.

She suddenly went back into the room and called for someone.

Vaguely, I heard her say Japan's name. But then, she became silent.

China then spoke up. "Is someone there with you, aru?" He then walks into the room. I followed. What surprised me was that, the room was empty.

"They're...gone." The girl said.

"...Who..?" I asked.

Before she could reply, she suddenly collapsed on the floor.

"Aiyah! Wh-What happened to her? She suddenly fainted!" China exclaims.

"Good god. Hurry, let's transfer her to the bed here." I instructed China.

This is getting weirder and weirder. I took her wrist and felt her pulse. It wasn't weak so I breathed in deeply in relief. China, on the other hand, fans the girl like a tornado. He seems very worried. I tell him to calm down which he eventually does. ...He still fanned like crazy, though.

Minutes later, the girl was slowly regaining consciousness. Eventually, she fluttered her eyes open.

"Wh...What happened..?" She asked weakly as she sat up.

"Well, love... You somehow burst through that door, looked at us, and then fainted." I told her with a confused expression.

She just stared at me for a while and murmured something.

"No way...You're..."

"Hmm?" I moved closer to hear her better.

She shook her head. "N-Nevermind.. What I meant to say was... I was looking for a man named Prussia...Have you guys...seen him?"

"I'm sorry..but we haven't seen him. We just got here." China replied.

She then gave a surprised expression. "Really? You just...got here..."

The girl fell silent for a few moments.

"Then...that leaves me all alone." She stated.

I tilted my head. "Alone?"

China's eyes widened. "Wait...Why are you even he-"

"Listen, if it's not much of a bother.. can I join you guys?" The girls adds quickly.

"Well... Sure.. It's not like we can just leave you here all alone, aru. You agree, right, Opium?" China asks.

"Of course. It is a gentleman's duty to make sure of a young lady's safety, you know." I said nonchalantly.

The girls face suddenly brightened up with a smile. "Thanks, E-...Er.."

"Let me introduce myself, I am The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But please, just call me England." I told her.

"My name is _ _. You can call me (first name). It's a pleasure to meet you, England." She said as she extended her hand towards me.

Being the gentleman I was, I took her hand and kissed it. "The pleasure is all mine, miss _." I said.

After that, she turned a few shades of red. Oh dear. Did I do something wrong?

"Uh. Ni hao! I'm China, by the way." China cuts in.

The girl seemingly regains composure and smiles at China. "Hello. I'm _." She said and once more extended her hand. This time to China.

China takes her hand and shakes it.

Oh.

A hand shake.

_My way was waaay better _

The girl then clears her throat. "Ahem. Thanks for helping me. Anyways...uhm, so were are you guys to?" She asks.

"Well, we were going to check the third and fourth floors." China replies.

"Hold on, are you alright now?" I ask her.

She smiled at me once more. "Yes. Thank you for asking. I am very much okay now so uhm, let's go take a look upstairs together...I might find Prussia there."

China and I nodded and we all went outside the room.

Again, I felt...the cold.

"Let's go, quickly. If we make America wait, he won't shut up about it." I told China.

China takes a closer look and me. "You look pale. You really hate it here, don't you?" He asked. He didn't wait for me to answer though. He walked a few paces towards the stairs.

"... I never thought I would envy peoplewho can't 'see' so much." I said in a low voice.

China must've heard me. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

I shook my head. "Nothing."

I turned to _ and saw that she had a sullen look on her face.

"You sure you're okay now, love?" I ask her.

She seems to have snapped out of a daze and turned to face me. She gave a weak smile and shook her head. She then started walking in front of me and up to the stairs. But ever so faintly... I heard her mutter something under her breath.

" ...I, on the other hand, just never thought I would envy people who don't _**'know'**__ as much."_


	6. Chapter 4 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER IV: Gunshots (Part 2)- **

~Reader-chan's PoV~

I know this part of the game...but things aren't really making sense. Why did Japan and the others suddenly disappear? Did I jump through time or something? No.. I'm not that far in the game yet...

I was thinking of so many things that I didn't notice that we were already in the fourth floor.

All three of us went inside the room with the AmeriMochi in it.

England then notices something. "Oh! That's..." He points to the red chair.

"What a creepy looks like a cursed chair I saw somewhere." China comments.

*coughBusby'sChaircough*

England fell silent.

"Well, we've come all the way to the 4th floor,but... everything looks pretty normal. The air is terrible, though." He finally says.

China nods. "The bad feeling still isn't gone. Let's go back to France and go home!"

England agrees. "Yeah. Well, let's-"

On cue, we heard gun shots.

"That sound..." England whispers.

China furrowed his eyebrows. "Is it the sound of America's pistol? He fired a lot."

England gave a worried look. "That means something must have happened,right?"

"In a place like this? Don't you think he just fell for Russia's provocation?" China reasons.

"Oh, do get carried away when they mess around with each other..." England agrees.

"Are... you guys sure?" I ask quietly.

"No... I feel that it's something different from messing around...Anyway, let's join France and go take a look." China finally says.

England huffs. "Pfffff...If you insist!"

We then rushed down to the second floor.

-

==2nd floor==

"15 minutes...

... Isn't France coming?" England says as he tapped his shoes on the floor.

"What's the meaning of this? It shouldn't take this long to see the second floor." China says.

"Maybe he got tired of waiting and went downstairs?" England concludes.

"Well, he certainly gets bored easily. I'll check the rooms on the second floor tomake sure we didn't miss each other. You two wait here!" China tells us.

England nods. "Yeah, or else we might miss each other again."

"W-Wait!" I exclaimed.

China then turned around to face me. "What is it, aru?"

"I want to check that room over there, too." I told him.

China then motions me to join him. "Alright. Let's go."

We entered the fireplace room again.

"Mhhm...So they really aren't here.." I say softly.

China walks over to the fireplace "Burnt firewood...So this is the source of the bad smell."

I went closer to where China was and saw him very confused and out of words.

Finally, he was able to speak, "... Huh?

These are? No doubt about it... It'-Japan's clothes.

Wh-why are they covered in blood like this...? There are... remains of several things in the fireplace. But I can't tell what got burnt." He states frantically.

"O-Oh...let's go back to England, then.." I tell him.

We met up with England who was by the staircase.

"Well? Did you find him?" He asks.

China didn't answer.

"You-you look frightfully pale! Wh-what have you got there?" England pointed to the cloth that China held.

"It's... It's Japan's clothes...Half of it got burnt, though..." He said, showing it to England.

England inspected the item. "This is... blood... right? Wait, did you say they're Japan's clothes? You mean they?"

I tried to say something, but China spoke before I could.

"This place is dangerous! But if Japan is here,it's a different matter! I'll look for him and then go home!"

"C-calm down, I say!Try thinking about this rationally! Why would Japan be here?

Listen, we only came here because we went along with America's idiotic story and had nothing better to do, right?" England asks.

"That's why this is so weird!" China says, exasperated.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? You sent that message to Japan.

When you talked to him about it at the meeting place, he said, 'I'll see what I can do,' which is what he says when he doesn't want to do something, so he didn't come. And when we got into the mansion, you sent him a message saying, 'We're here', and he replied, 'Be careful,' only once.

But he sent that from the meeting place!" England explained.

China pauses for a moment. "Oh..."

"Just think about 's in the meeting place right now! He couldn't possibly have got here before us." England continues.

I was supposed to say something _again_...but China cut me off..._again_.. Dangit, China!

"Th-then what is this?! These are the same clothes that Japan was wearing today! Why would the same clothes be burning in the fireplace?!" He asks loudly.

England tried to think of a sound reason "Well..."

"France is missing, too. America was shooting at something. This place is too weird! I'll go talk to the others about it. And also, we should really get you to somewhere less safe and less weird, _." China says.

I am finally noticed, but all is not forgiven. I pout internally.

England nods. "All right. Anyway, let's go back. The chances that these belong to Japan? Well, we can't be sure of anything yet. Let's go."

China, England and I then rush downstairs. When we reached the first floor, I told them that "I _think_ I heard something in the kitchen."

When we entered the kitchen, we saw the Thing battling against Russia and Canada.

England looked up and was shocked. "Aargh! What the?! Uh? Huh?!"

China did so, as well. "Th...Wha...What the hell is that monster!?"

"Ah, you guys sure took your time, didn't you? As you can see, we're in the middle of an assault." Russia said.

Canada was sort of trembling, but managed to get up. "Y-you two... b-b-better run..."

The Thing suddenly attacks Russia.

"R... Russia!" Canada exclaims.

Russia took a hold of his arm for a while. "... That hurt. The water pipes in this place really are no good at all. Good thing I got one of my own!" He said, smiling.

Canada creased his forehead. "I-it's not use! Even if it's yours, it's just a tap!"

Russia tries to prove the Canadian man wrong by attacking the Thing once more..

"Huuuuuuuh!? How come the pipe turned into a sword!?" China said in a surprised tone.

"Ahah. Actually, this is a sword cane. I asked Japan to make it for me! It's really sharp, isn't it?" Russia says proudly.

Russia attacks the monster once more.

China covers his eyes a little. "Woeeeeh! That's nasty!"

"But it didn't cause any damage at all..." Canada says in a low voice.

"L-let's give them reinforcements!" England suggests.

China nods. "Right, aru!"

"Yeah!" I said, pumped up for another battle.

England suddenly stops me from taking a step farther. "Uh.. No, love. You stay where you won't get attacked by the monster."

I frown. "W-Wha.."

Then, they all go to Russia and Canada's side and try to battle Steve.

I waved my hand in front of me to check the battle stats.

This monster was one crazy mofo. He didn't even give the four countries time to give one attack. Then they all fell down. Though I know it was part of the game, I was still worried.

"Y-You guys..!" I called out.

"Ts... Aah... Haa..." Canada panted heavily.

Russia started to get up. "Aww, too bad. It didn't work at all."

China turned to the British man beside him. "England, why aren't you doing anything useful?!"

"No, er... Sorry. This place itself is blocking my magic; it looks like I can only use a small part of it..." England apologises.

"What a troublesome place!I have no strength left..." China says as he tries to stand.

Suddenly, Steve charges towards England...

"Er, wait a s-" England stopped and closed his eyes when he realised he was the target.

"England, watch out!" I shouted.

Japan suddenly appears from above and attacks the monster like a ninja.

"I won't let you lay a hand on my friends." He says.

"EH?! J-Japan?!" England opens his eyes to see his Japanese friend.

I wave my hands frantically to catch Japan's attention. "JAPAN! You're here!"

He then turns to me. " _-chan?! There you are! We were looking all over for you."

China looks at Japan. "Japan? You know this girl?"

"I'll explain that later. Let's take care of that Thing first." I said.

Japan nods. "You're right. Ah, but this time..I'll do it on my own."

He turned to us all.

"I'm going to have to ask you all to wait a little before we can talk."

"Japan! So you did come here!" China realises.

"Everyone is all right, I suppose? Excuse me while I deal with this Thing, then." Japan said.

Canada warns Japan, "B-but it's awfully strong..."

"We'll help?" Russia asks.

Japan shook his head. "No need to worry.

... It really did a number on you, didn't it? Allow me to pay it back in kind for the injuries you sustained.

This is quite a convenient opponent for me to unleash my wrath on!"

I waved my hand in front of me to monitor Japan's status for the battle.

I saw he had his special skill "Blade of Wrath". He used it and in one attack, he was able to defeat the monster.

The screen displays: __

_Japan was victorious!_

_25 EXP were received!_

_100HETA were obtained! _

The Thing fades away like a ghost.

"Wow. He looks just like Canada now." Russia says, amused.

Canada pouts, offended. "Just say he disappeared, will you?"

"Can you get up, England?" Japan asks.

"Y-yeah. Anyway, Japan, have you fought that monster before? It wasn't the first time... was it?" England inquires.

Japan looked at his friend, confused. "What? What are you talking about? You have fought it before, too, haven't you? You got here first, after all."

China stepped forward. "We haven't been here for even an hour. And you... weren't even supposed to be here yet."

"That's true, when you put it that way. I mean, China sent Japan a message and Japan replied from the meeting place, right?" Russia said.

Japan nods. "Yes, and then Italy started saying that he wanted to come, too, so Germany, Prussia,and I came with him... but..."

Canada looked confused and spoke, "What? But it takes 3 hours to come here from the meeting place. We really have been here for only about an hour. Don't you think that's a little odd?"

"... There are many things we need to talk about. First of all, let's go to the second floor. I know of a safe room there." Japan said.

China then remembers the cloth he picked up. "W-wait a minute! What about this, then?! What's with these clothes of yours?! They're covered in blood!"

"Oh. Those are the clothes that I threw into the fireplace. Why do you have them?" Japan asks.

"I found them when I went to that room! Aren't you... hurt...?" China said as he inspected Japan for any noticeable injuries.

"Um, that's... tomato." Japan said monotonously.

China became more confused. "... Huh?"

"I'm fine; I'm not hurt at all. Now, let's join Germany and Italy and I'll explain the situation to you." Japan says.

All of us headed for the second floor. On our way up, Japan told me to call for Germany and Italy and tell them about the meeting.

Everyone else then went to the 2nd floor in the fireplace room, while I went to the room with the iron door to call Germany and Italy.

_On my way there, I heard someone call my name._


	7. Chapter 4 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER IV: Gunshots (Part 3)- **

~Reader-chan's PoV~

I turned around to see who called me.

No one.

This feels oddly familiar...

I tried to think of what happening was similar to this, but I simply can't remember.

I then shake my head. "It must be just my imagination.. I mean all the battles and stuff.. Maybe... Yeah.. That's it."

I took a deep breath before opening the door to where Italy and Germany were.

I only saw Italy, but I knew Germany was probably inside the iron closet place er, whatever.

"Italy, Japan told me to tell you that there's going to be an emergency meeting." I said.

Italy perked up. "What? So everyone is here! Let's go back to the fireplace room, then!"

"Yeah... They said that some are missing, though. But we'll talk about it later." I told him.

I then turn to the closet door. "Uhm..? Germany? We need to go now, if you don't mind.."

"Understood." He replies from the other side.

Germany went out of the closet.

The burly man scratches the back of his hand. "Sorry for making you wait."

"Ve~ Are you okay now? Do you want to go in there again?  
" Italy asks his friend.

Germany shook his head. "No, it's okay. And I probably won't come back here. Or rather, I hope I won't."

I smiled and spoke, "Really? That's good to hear. Now, let's hurry up. Japan told me that we can't take our time here and we need to talk to them as soon as possible."

"You haven't found my brother, have you...?" Germany asks me.

I shook my head. "N-No... but I... Actually, I have an explanation for that.."

Germany raises an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'll save that story for when we're all together." I tell him.

"I-It'll be okay! Cheer up, Germany!" Italy says comfortingly.

I nodded. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

==Fireplace room==

I opened the door to the fireplace room slowly and spoke, "We're back..."

"Ja. Sorry we took a while." Germany apologises.

Russia suddenly points to me. "Not to be rude, but...who's the girl and what's she doing here?"

Canada nods. "I've been wondering that, too."

They all turned to me and...well, of course..

I gave them an awkward wave.

"Oh..that's right. She's in the same situation as us." Japan said as he sat down.

I decided that I should introduce myself this time. "H-Hello.. My name is _ _, You can just call me (first name)."

Canada smiles. "Hello, _. I'm Canada."

I fangirled inside.

"Nice to meet you." I told him. (/)/

Russia then spoke, "I'm Russia. Oh and...before anything else...Why did you go here of all places?"

Italy then gives me weird..or should I say suspicious smile. "Ve~ That's right...we forgot to ask you that question, too, bella."

As much as possible, I don't want to lie to them. I can't tell them that I don't really belong here. Well, I think..I don't.. I don't know... Ugh... I'll...just tell them what they're asking for...

After a short moment, I spoke up.

"A-Actually... I was on my way to my Aunt's house together with my parents. I fell asleep in the car and..when I woke up, I couldn't find my parents.. I saw this place and assumed that this was where they were...but I was wrong.. I tried to go back outside...but the door won't open anymore... "

"I see... so that's why I saw you at the front door.." Japan says.

I nod. "Yes.. but come to think of it...I never really confirmed whether my parents are here or not... I...don't think they are... I hope..." I said, my voice getting softer and softer.

China then goes over and pats my shoulder to comfort me. "Poor thing, aru."

You may be being nice to me China, but I'm still bitter about you cutting me off earlier.

"A-Anyways... enough about me...err, uhm... I think you guys were supposed to have a meeting, right?" I asked.

"You're part of this meeting, too." Germany told me.

"O-Oh.. Thanks.." I smiled. At first I wasn't that comfortable because I was feeling out of place.. now, it's sort of nice to sorta belong..

Japan then stood up. "Alright.. Now, without further ado, I'll explain our situation.

First, as you know, I received a message from China saying that you had arrived here, and Italy thought it would be interesting and wanted to come as well.

So Germany, Italy, Prussia and I came here. First, I went to take a look around, but in the meantime, that monster you saw before appeared and attacked them."

"W-were you all right after that?" England asked.

Italy nodded. "Yeah, somehow. For better or worse, it seemed to be targeting me, and I'm good at running away, so I got to escape."

"You got away?! That's amazing..." China said.

I then decided to sit on the chair on the far right, near the not-yet-fully-forgiven China and the oh-so-gentleman England.

I was listening to the meeting...but out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Italy went by the fireplace.

"While I was in search of the others, I happened to bump into _-chan. Then, both of us went to look for Prussia, and Italy.

Eventually, while we didn't know the true nature of that thing, we all got together again and spent the night in this room, with a sense of security because we had the key to it." Japan told them.

Russia raises an eyebrow. "The night..."

Canada spoke up softly. "Th-that really is odd... I mean, we?Oh, I'm sorry. Please, go on."

"We've run out of firewood. Can I burn this wooden box?" Italy asked.

Germany nods. "Yes, let's burn anything that can be used as fuel."

Japan then continues. "We decided that one of us should keep watch and Prussia kindly took up this duty, but maybe because of our sense of security, the four of us fell into a deep sleep..."

I decided that it was my turn to speak up, so I raised my hand. "U-Uh, well... not all of us."

Germany looked at me. "That's right. _, you said something about what happened last night...

They all turned to me to listen.

I grew kinda nervous, but continued. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain...but I woke up last night. I heard Prussia shouting and so I decided to see what's going on...but the problem was... I wasn't able to move."

"What do you mean by that?" England asked.

"I don't know why, but I was paralysed. I wasn't able to get up from the bed, nor could I even talk. I could hear, though. I heard Prussia saying "No! I won't die yet!" and he stormed out of the room." I told them.

"He...He attacked the Thing on his own..?" Germany asked a glint of fear in his eyes.

I shook my head. "I'm still unsure of that...but after he went outside, I regained feeling back to my body and so I went to open the door. At first, it wouldn't open...but when I was able to... Prussia was nowhere to be found... and then... I don't know how it was possible...but I met England and China, who were outside and were standing in the hallway."

England and China nodded.

"I see... so that's why I heard her saying Prussia's name..." England said.

China snapped his fingers. "Oh...then she went back inside the room and tried to call for Japan, Germany and Italy..."

I nodded. "...But they weren't there anymore. I was so confused... so I decided to join China and England."

Germany then looked confused. "Wait...it doesn't make sense...and at the same time...it does make sense... Huh..."

"So..that's the reason why... Prussia and _ were gone when we woke up..." Japan said.

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"You know, there were bloodstains in the hallway, so I followed the trail, but... eventually..." Japan told us.

"The trail ended..." Russia concluded.

"We tried looking for them, but we didn't want to lose anybody else, so Germany and I stood by. And then, Japan found you guys, right?" Italy asked.

Japan nodded. "Yes. And that's what happened to us. But...I thought for sure that America and France would be here, too?"

"Yeah, the six of us came here on America's suggestion and split up into two groups.

America, Russia and Canada looked around the first floor, while China, France and I went to check out the second floor. While France went inside a room somewhere, _ here suddenly appeared." England explained.

"_ then went back to this room and we followed, but then she suddenly fainted." China said.

Canada looked at me with concerned eyes. "Wh-What? Are you okay now?"

"It's been happening recently...but I'm fine now, don't worry." I replied.

England then spoke, "So China and I brought _ to this room and looked after her until she regained consciousness. When she woke up, she explained why she was here and then told us she was looking for Prussia. We didn't want to leave the lady alone, so of course we brought her along with us."

China nodded. "That's right, aru. So all three of us went to check out the upper floors. When we were in the middle of inspecting a room, we heard gunshots. We assumed it was America's so we decided to go back down to meet up with France and check out the situation.

When we finished looking and came down to the second floor, France didn't return. _ wanted to check out the fireplace room again..in hopes that you guys might be back there, so I went inside the room with her. No one was in the room, but I found Japan's burnt clothes in the fireplace, and I wondered what had happened."

"We came back to the first floor and found Russia and Canada fighting that Thing. That bastard disappeared the first chance he got." England said.

Japan looked up. "Really? Um, I vaguely noticed it when I was fighting it, but that strange creature..."

"It resembles a friend of America's, doesn't it?" Germany stated.

China stood up. "That's right! I noticed it the moment I saw it! That's definitely it! Um... its name was..."

Germany was trying to remember, as well. "To... Tommy? Wasn't it?"

England agreed. "Yeah, that was definitely its name. They look identical. Don't you think this was America's doing?

He's the one who heard the rumour about this place and asked us to come here,after all..."

"I see! So this is just a prank of America's that got too far! Well, in that case, there's nothing else to say! Let's just look for America!" Italy said in a relieved tone.

Then I noticed Canada suddenly looked like he wanted to say something. When our eyes met, I smiled at him and motioned him to say something if he had something to say. He smiled back and took a deep breath.

"...You're mistaken." He said in a voice a bit louder than usual.

England looked confused. "Huh?"

Everyone else then their attention to Canada.

_I was also about to listen to him, when I felt my vision start to blur._


	8. Chapter 5 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER V: Three Paths (Part 1)- **

~Reader's PoV~

My vision was starting to blur again. I lowered my head slowly and tried to take in a deep breath. After a while, I was back to normal.

_What...What is happening to me?_

Before I could think of possible answers, I heard Canada speak so I looked up and listened intently.

"...That's not Tony." Canada stated.

"When we were talking about going through the first floor, that Thing appeared, too.

But the moment I saw it, I realised it was that friend that America had introduced to us before." Russia said.

Japan looked slightly confused. "Y-yes. Are we mistaken? We concluded that it was America's friend and felt more at ease in our search..."

Canada shook his head. "I live close to America and I've met Tony several times. I suppose they do look alike. But even so... _he would never attack America._"

China's eyes widened. "Attack? What? It attacked him?!"

Canada nodded. "It was only one hit. America was thrown against the wall, but he was still conscious somehow and began shooting at it. It had no effect at all, though...

We thought it was America's friend at first, but when it suddenly attacked America and America seemed to fight back for real...We realised that we were probably wrong."

"So that's why we heard shooting!" England said.

"We had no idea what to do. He was getting cornered, and when we tried to do something about it, he yelled at us to get away." Russia told us.

Canada had a sullen expression on his face. "I think he... wanted to handle it on his own. But it was too strong even for the three of us, so we decided to get it away from him.

I couldn't fight it, though...I lowered my guard for one moment and was knocked out. When I came to, both that creature and America were... gone.

I-I'm sorry, Russia, for all the trouble I gave you..."

Russia shook his head and smiled. "No, you weren't a burden at all! It's pretty hard to fight while you protect someone~ But if you want to thank me, why don't you become one with Russia? Huhuh."

I noticed Italy quietly stood up and went by the fireplace.

".. Anyway, we wanted to help him, but we didn't know where he'd gone.

We decided we might as well start looking inthe kitchen, and then the Thing appeared again and China, England and _ joined us. " Russia said.

He paused for a while and then continued.

"In other words, three people are missing. I think we should help them as soon as possible. America has nothing to do with it, so we can't feel safe.

Rather, we should expect the worst."

"Oh!" Italy exclaimed.

Germany went over to Italy. "What's wrong?"

Italy started to rummage through the fireplace. "There's something inside the burnt wooden box! Just a second. Um..."

"Be careful." Germany said.

"Uh-huh. Oops? Ow, hot!

It's a key. It's a key to some room!" Italy said.

I quietly turned my back and waved my hand in front of me. A popup appeared.

**Obtained: Hallway Key. **

"We got a new breach!" China exclaimed.

Japan nodded. "Finding a way out was our priority, but first we have to think of a way to rescue our friends. If we are thorough in our search, I'm sure we'll find them.

Those three are also tenacious people. They've got to be somewhere..."

"Friends, huh...? Sounds interesting. I was caught by surprise before, but next time I meet the Thing, I'll have a lot to thank it for." Russia gives out a small chuckle.

"Let's hurry. I don't want anyone dropping out." England added.

"Well, then, we'll split up into three groups, since we have so much to do. And no one can go alone. Each group should have at least two people." Japan said.

"Yeah, there are too many rooms. There are rooms we can open with a key,rooms we can't open, and rooms that we haven't checked out yet." Italy told us.

Japan then holds his wrist up. "Yes. Now, about our unsynchronized watches..."

Suddenly, the clanking of the doorknob was heard. It was the Thing.

"Eek! J... Japan..." Italy shouted with a frightened expression.

Japan clicked his tongue. "... So, it found us, after all. This room is no longer safe."

"Was it ever off-limits? Shit! What are we going to do?!" England asked frantically.

"My group will be in charge of dealing with the Thing. Germany, Italy, you will search for the room to open with that key." Japan instructed.

"Then I'll fight with Japan!" China said.

Russia chimed in. "Can I join you?I really have to thank it for all the trouble~"

I tugged Japan's sleeve. "T-Then should I stay with you guys here, Japan?"

Japan shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's too dangerous."

I understood. I opened my bag and took out some onigiris, beer and hot chili peppers. "Then, take some of these with you then."

Japan took them and placed some in his pocket and handed the others to Russia and China.

"There's a room that I want to investigate. So I'll take Canada and _ with me.. Italy, if you make any progress, come to the room with the piano." England said.

Italy starts getting ready to leave. "Okay! B-be careful, Japan."

Japan smiled. "Thank you."

The Thing suddenly burst through the door and was behind Japan.

"Well then everyone...Good luck." Japan said before he attacks the Thing.

He quickly turns to us. **"Right now!**


	9. Chapter 5 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER V: Three Paths (Part 2)- **

While Japan and the others distracted the monster, we all rushed out the door.

Canada, England and I rushed up the stairs. We were now in the hallway of the third floor. The two decided that we should take a short rest first. I offered them some biscuits which they gladly accepted.

While the two were busy munching on the biscuits, I turned away from them, pretending to fix my bag. But what I really did was waved my hand in front of me to check the menu screen.

It was a black screen with three options.__

_Play which group?_

_Japan, Russia &amp; China  
Germany &amp; Italy  
England &amp; Canada &amp; _ _

I decided to select Japan's group first to check up on them.

Japan, Russia &amp; China

China took a quick look around the room. "Everyone has already escaped."

Japan nodded. "Yes, everyone except us."

"It's not often the three of us get to do something together~ This is going to be kinda fun!" Russia said cheerfully.

"I wish we would work together a little more harmoniously." Japan said.

China turned to Japan. "If you want the three of us to be all chummy and smiley, I have a sinking feeling..."

"I suppose you are right. A union like this would be more fitting." Japan agreed.

Russia looked at Japan and spoke, "Japan, can't you just beat the Thing with that amazing technique you used before?"

Japan shook his head. "Oh. Well, you see, when I was under the impression that this was America's doing, I got a little exasperated at him. It was the last straw, and that was the result.

Now that I know what is going on, I can no longer do it. My anger has completely faded away."

"When we go home, I'll treat you to your favourite Chinese dish. Until then, do your best!" China encouraged.

Japan's face suddenly lit up. "Oh! I look forward to it. Well, then, that will certainly motivate me to escape."

"I want to eat, too~ If we can get out of here alive, can I drop by your house? You won't mind, will you?" Russia asked China.

"If we can get out of here alive, I'll think about it." China said nervously.

"... Let's go!" Japan exclaimed.

The three then fought the Thing and after a tiring battle, the team won.

_Onigiri was found! _

"We won't lose a second time! But it's weird that it disappears like that... We can't tell whether we won or not." China said with a doubtful look.

"Well, at least it won't pollute the environment?" Japan said, unsure.

"Not quite~ Maybe this will never end and it'll keep appearing. It's getting really tiring..." Russia said, panting a little.

China approached Japan. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, your backup was perfect. Our opponent has also grown stronger compared with before. I would have had no chances had I fought alone. Thank you very much for your help." Japan said with a rare smile.

China snapped his fingers. "Oh! By the way, why were those clothes smeared with tomato?! I thought it was blood!"

"Well, you see, some time after I woke up this morning, we encountered that creature yet again... Italy had just been waking up and was quite surprised; he began yelling at it to get away and throwing at it to make it go away, but they ended up hitting me in the back instead. After we defeated it, the smell was really bothering me, so I threw it into the fireplace." Japan explained.

As the two were chatting, Russia went over to the drawers, looking for something.

"Oh, if I remember correctly, you had a change of clothes because you were staying at Germany's place the day before the meeting, right?" China asked.

Suddenly a loud noise was heard. They realised that it was Russia who was hitting something with his pipe.

"Ah."

Japan turned his head to Russia. "What is the matter, Russia?"

"Um, there was this clock that was moving like crazy... I'm sorry. The tick-tock was too loud, so I broke it with my pipe." Russia told him.

"A clock?" Japan said curiously.

He then rushed over to Russia's side.

Japan eyed the clock and cupped his chin. "A clock... Now that you mention it, we can't tell what time it is in this place. Our watches are all out of synchrony."

"They're really strange. Even though we came here ahead of Japan's group, they've been here longer. By the way... it's 11:42 on my watch." China said as he raised his wrist up to check his watch.

Japan did the same and had a surprised look on his face. "Oh!"

"I-it's 11:42 on mine, too! But it was 6:00 just a moment ago..." He said, confused.

Russia tilted his head. "Do you think maybe it's because I broke the clock?"

"That's possible. At least in this room the time is right. Maybe we can get the flow of time back to normal if we break the clocks." China suggested.

Japan nodded. "Then we'll break the clocks in every single room we get in. If we do that, maybe...

Maybe...we can help...France and...America...Right?" He said slowly.

Suddenly, the ringing of a cellphone was heard.

"Russia, it's your cell phone." China pointed.

Russia beamed childishly. "Amazing~ As soon as the time got right, the phone also began to work? Or not. The antenna isn't up.

Anyway, I'm going to answer it. And I'll make it so that the both of you can hear it, too.

... Who is it?"

No one spoke on the other side of the line, but a sound of a piano was heard.

After that, the call ended.

" ... Looks like it got cut off." Russia said.

"It's a bug!" China exclaimed.

Japan shook his head. "I've never heard of a "phone bug"... What we just heard was a piano."

"A piano... Anyway, we have nothing else to do here, so let's go back to England." Russia suggested.

"Indeed. If all goes well, Germany and Italy should also be able to join us there. Let's put everything in order here and hurry." Japan said.

"Say, _? Are you okay over there?" England asked.

I waved my hand again and the menu disappeared.

"O-Oh. I'm fine.." I told him nervously.

England looked like he was about to ask something else, but waved it off. "Okay.. By the way, thanks for the biscuits.. Uhm, I think we've had enough rest. Let's go check out the rooms." He then stood up and held his hand out to me. I reached for it and thanked him. Canada stood up as well and brushed off the crumbs on his clothes. After that, we entered the piano room.

In the Piano room...

England &amp; Canada &amp; _

"Okay, we'll examine this room before the others get here." England told us.

Canada nodded. "All right. Um, first, this piano...

It has these numbers, you see."

"I'm not sure what they're supposed to there something we needed numbers for?" England asked.

"No." Canada replied.

England then walked over to the shelves and skimmed through the books. "Hmm..."

Canada, on the other hand, began pacing around the room to think. "Numbers... they must be a code for something. Something that uses numbers...

Numbers... puzzles... Security, , security breach... but this house isn't that high-tech, so... a safe, or something..."

"Hey! The books in this room are nothing special, so wait here while I go to the room next door.

There were a lot of books there, so I'll leaf through them." England called out.

Canada turned to him and nodded. "Oh, okay. Just be careful."

England then leaves the room and heads for the other one across the hall. I wanted to check on the the other's progress, and I knew what was going to happen in this room next..so I needed to leave asap. I walked over to the deep-thinking Canadian.

"Uhm, Canada?"

Canada turned to face me. "Yes, _?"

"I, uh, think I left something outside while I was fixing my bag. I'll just go check if it's still there." I told him, pointing at the door.

"Oh. That's alright. Be careful and return as soon as you can, okay?" He said.

I smiled. "I will. Thanks."

As I turned the knob, I remembered something. I turned to Canada and spoke, "Oh, and...Canada?"

Canada heard me and answered. "Yes?"

"You are the piano." I said, giggling a little.

"What..?" Canada was about to turn to face me, but I quickly dashed through the hall to avoid further questions.

While I was out in the hallway, I peeked in the other room to check on England. He was reading some books and leaning on a shelf. I closed the door, unnoticed.

I decided to go up the stairs a little and sat on the steps.

Since, no one was there to see me, I waved my hand in front of me and opened a menu screen. I decided to check how Germany and Italy were doing.

Germany &amp; Italy

"That guy was a little bigger than before, don't you think? Maybe we really should go back to help them..." Italy said with a sullen expression.

Germany frowned. "No, first we must accomplish the mission that was given to us. Japan can take care of himself. We have to fully understand this house so that we can also lighten his burden."

"Ve. All right. Besides, if we run into that thing, I'd rather run away." Italy said in a scared voice.

"Duly noted. Anyway, let's search these rooms once more and then...Hum... report to England." Germany said.

Italy then lightened up. "Okay! Let's do our best, Germany."

The two went down to the first floor. They then headed for the hallway by the Tatami rooms.

_Used: Hallway Key._

Then they were suddenly chased by the monster, so they headed to the toilet. When the coast was clear, they decided to search somewhere else and saw the pantry room. They went inside and search for anything of interest. There, they saw a safe.

"It's a safe! Oh, but it's locked." Italy said sadly.

Germany inspected the safe. "If it weren't, there wouldn't be any point to looks like it's a four-digit numeric combination...

We still have insufficient information. Let's investigate a little more."

"Too bad~" Italy said.

They then go back to the 1st floor hallway. In one of the closets, they found a piece of paper.

"Hmm~ Another piece of paper." Italy said.

"It's similar to the piece we found earlier. Here, let me take a look." Germany said as he reached for the paper.

"...It looks like the cross-section view of pasta or something like that!" Italy said in an oblivious manner.

Germany furrowed his eyebrows. "Why...?"

Italy tilted his head. "You think it's something else? Well, it doesn't look like a map, either. I wonder what it is..."

After a brief silence, a cellphone suddenly rung.

Germany jumped in surprise. "Moaargh!"

Italy was scared by his friend's reaction. "Hiii! Don't scare me like that, Germany!"

"S-sorry. That sound? Isn't it your cell phone?" Germany said.

"Eh? Oh, y-you're right. Why? Our phones get no signal here!" Italy said, confused.

Germany frowned. "How am I supposed to know?! Anyway, try answering it."

Italy took out his phone and checked who was calling. "Ve... It's a number-withheld call...

C... ciao..."

Nothing was heard except a sound from a piano.

"... Uh?" Italy said as the line got cut off.

"What's wrong?" Germany asked.

Italy put his phone back in his pocket. "I'm not sure. I heard a sound and then the call was cut off."

"A sound?" Germany said, wanting an explanation.

Italy nodded. "The sound of a piano. It was only one note, though. I wonder what that was all about?"

Germany was still unsure of what happened. "The sound of a piano? Hm...We have this piece of paper now, so let's go back to England. Japan and the others will probably join us there if all goes well, too."

"Yeah. Let's go back to the piano room, then." Italy agreed.

Since the two groups' paths were done, I switched the screen to check up on how Canada was faring.

Piano Room...

Canada turned to the door, but I dashed out to the hall, so he went back to the thought he was pondering about.

"Um... What I was thinking about, again?" Canada said, tapping his fingers on the piano.

"First, the piano. God, America's always getting us into can't he be a little more considerate? I mean-" He stopped talking to himself when he heard the door suddenly open.

"Oh. _ did you find what you were looking for? I haven't looked here yet. Also! I remember were told not to do anything alone, remember? So stay with me this time. We should also call England back here." He said.

Canada turned around and saw that it was actually Steve, that bloody gray monster.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed in shock.

"Wh-wha-wha-wha-what?"

A menu appeared. It seems that I could choose his action. Well, this is interesting.

**  
Talk to it  
Stand still  
Pour maple syrup **

Of course, I chose "Stand still."

The monster looks around the room.

Canada suddenly rambles in his thoughts. _"Wh-wh-why did this have to happen just when I'm all alone?! Maybe the others were all killed? No, I can't think like that._

_Wh-wh-wh-what am I going to do? _

**Pretend to be a piano  
Faint  
Run like the wind! **

_H-huh? Is it even... seeing... me? _

Canada then remembers what I told him.

_" _ said something about me being the piano, right? ...So...does that mean...I should pretend to be a piano?...What..." _

He decided to do so and just stood still.

_Fall over showily  
Talk to it  
Pretend to be a piano! _

Pretend to be a piano!

Canada then closed his eyes and said the following words repeatedly. _"I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano...I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano.. I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano...I am a piano... I am a piano... I am a piano.." _

He suddenly gets too worked up and loses energy. "I... Eh...This... Dis.. I... Azz..."

I...I can't see anything

...Anything but the dark...

After that, Canada collapsed.

I suddenly waved the screen away. "Oh god, I gotta help Canada."

I went downstairs and rushed to the library England was in.

"E-England! Help! It seems like Canada fainted!" I told him frantically.

The Briton dropped the book he was reading. "W-What? Where is he?"

"He's still in the piano room!" I told him.

"Okay. I'm going over there." England said as he rushed out the library.

I knew that Canada's not really in danger, so I didn't rush over there as panicked as England. I took the opportunity to reflect on some things. ...I think...maybe I should tell them what I know. Which one? Where should I start? Should I tell them everything? Maybe I should tell them about the rope ladder before the Thing gets to it? Yes...maybe I should... It's for the best...

I was about to leave the room, when I suddenly felt arms wrap around me.

I was shocked. "W-What the..." I couldn't turn my head to see who was...hugging me. I squirmed to get myself released.

The person behind me suddenly spoke, "Now now, poppet. Are you sure you want me to stop hugging you. It's very relaxing." The man started to giggle.

My eyes widened. ...He called me..."Poppet"...

No...

No way...

They're...they're not part of this!

"...Please...let me go..." I asked of him.

I suddenly shivered when he nuzzled his head on the crook of my neck.

"Who are you asking to let you go, poppet?" He asked playfully.

I bit my lip and prayed that I would be wrong. Though it'll be just like when I met Japan. But this...this is different... This guy's equally...if not..more..dangerous than the monsters here.

I began to open my mouth and spoke softly.

"Please...let me go...England."

He let me go and made me face him. I looked down. I didn't want to confirm my fears.

"I've watched you, poppet. I've also learned that in your world, I have a name of my own. A name I do not share with that grumpy man~" He told me cheerfully.

"...O-Ol.." I said under my breath.

"Come on now, poppet. Tell me~."

He then cupped my chin and made me look at him in the eyes.

I saw two blue orbs that had swirls of pink.

He smiled at me like a cheshire cat. I took a deep breath and spoke weakly,

_"Oliver."_


	10. Chapter 5 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER V: Three Paths (Part 3)- **

/Canada's PoV!~/

As I began to regain my consciousness, I hear a voice calling out my name.

"Hey, Canada!"

Whose voice was that..?

"Wake up, you bloody wanker! Open your eyes!"

Oh. It's England.

I tried to gather enough energy to bring myself to get up. I start to flutter open my eyes and let it adjust to the sudden brightness. My vision was blurry...where are my glasses?

I still felt disoriented, but I managed to speak.

"Egh... Ha... uh? ... Wh.. Whaz'happened?" I asked the emerald-eyed man who was sitting beside me.

"I don't know! _ rushed over to me and told me that she found you unconscious here so we headed over here as soon as we can. When I found you, you were lying on the floor, near the piano, with maple syrup." He replied.

I creased my brow for a moment as my hands searched for my glasses. It was beside the maple syrup bottle I had. Now it's all covered in the sweet liquid...not that I don't like it. I began wiping it with my handkerchief.

"You scared me! Did something happen!?" England asked with a worried expression.

I decided that it was best not to explain to him how the Thing suddenly appeared in the room...not to mention it not seeing me. (=_=")

"Ah... Hem... No... I can't remember very well but... Since the flow of time is strange, you didn't run into it..." I told him.

He tilted his head. "Run into... what?"

I felt a sharp pain in my head. "Aouch... My head hurts...I... I don't think that creature will be coming to this room for a while...That's all I'm going to say."

I finally finished cleaning up my glasses. As I put it back on, I noticed something.

"Ah... I...England...you said that _ told you about me, right?" I asked him.

England raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, we both headed here-"

He suddenly turned his head to the door and saw no one.

"Bloody hell. W-Where did she go?!" England exclaimed.

We both got up to our feet.

"This is bad. We shouldn't let her walk around this place alone!" I told him.

"Right. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't notice that she wasn't following after me." England said in low voice.

"Where could she be?" I asked as headed towards the door.

"Maybe she's still in the library on this floor. That's where I last saw her." The Brit replied.

"Alright, let's go." I said.

We both rushed towards the other room across the hall. I was about to open the door of the room, when I suddenly heard voices coming from the other side.

_"N-No...I don't..." _

My eyes widened. Was someone in there? Is it the monster?!

I flung the door open and ran inside. England followed.

"_!" England shouted.

The (h/c) girl stood there, her back facing us. She was just standing still. What's wrong?

We both walked towards her. Her head was down. I placed my hand on her shoulder. "_, what happened? Are you okay?" I asked her.

She was silent for a while. Then, she spoke in a very low voice.

_"I'm sorry." _

England and I looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"_, love. What are you sorry for?" England asked.

She shook her head and then spoke again. This time, her tone suddenly changed back to how it normally was. "N-No... I... I didn't go to the piano room. I'm sorry if I didn't follow you, England. It was... I was...uhm, scared... Sorry for being a burden."

Our faces suddenly soften at her statement.

I backed off a bit as England went up to her and cupped her face. He made her face us. She was really pale and her eyes were watery.

England sighed.

_"Everyone here is just as scared, _. Don't worry. We understand that you were scared of the monster. What scares us more, though, is whether you're safe or not. We're gentlemen here. We'd never let a lady such as yourself walk alone in this dangerous house. We'll protect you and we assure you that we'll get you out of here. All of us will get out of here, alright?" _He said in a soothing manner.

I've never seen England act this way before. It's rather reassuring. I saw _ eyes brighten up a bit after hearing those words. She still seemed so fragile, though. I want to say something, too...

I walked up to them and took _'s hand. I smiled and spoke, "England's right. You shouldn't worry, we're here. And don't think you're a burden. You're far from it! You always did something to help at all the right times. You even went to get England when you saw me unconscious. I'm very thankful for that."

She looked at me and a small smile formed on her lips. Then, she turned to England, who nodded in agreement with my words.

_ took a deep breath and spoke once more.

"Thank...Thank you so much."

**The three groups survived successfully.  
Meeting in the piano room. **

Third Person PoV

"-and by breaking the clocks, we adjust the time... so it is imperative that we do this.

We have broken the clocks on the 2nd and1st floor. Now, only this floor and the one above are left." The Japanese man explained.

Italy suddenly piped up. "We found this weird scrap of paper. And then we found a safe inside a room in the kitchen."

"A safe? Maybe the numbers on the keyboard...could be some kind of hint?" Canada questioned.

Russia nodded. "Yeah, then we can open the safe and make some progress. So, first of all... shouldn't we take a look at the scrap of paper that Italy found?"

England snapped his fingers and spoke. "Yeah, they're a perfect sticking them together."

As the others were discussing about the papers, the tall, Russian man suddenly noticed the girl beside him. He turned to her and spoke, "Hey, _..."

The girl turned to face him and asked nervously, "Y-Yes...?"

"I've been thinking...Do you kn-..." Russia stopped.

"Do I..what?" The girl asked.

Russia shook his head. He was silent for a while, but then spoke once more.

"You... You have something on your face."

The girl's hand shot up to her cheek. "Wh-What? Where?" She asked.

The man reached his gloved hands towards the girl and wiped off something from the her right cheek with his thumb. He then looked closely at his thumb and said, "...Huh."

The girl gave a confused look. "What's wrong?"

Russia then looked at her and replied.

"It seems like _pink and blue icing._"

_'s eyes suddenly widened. Horror was written all over her face. "That's...I...well..."

Now, Russia found this intriguing. It wasn't supposed to mean anything to him but...her reaction made him suspicious of the girl.

He was about to ask more questions when a loud ringing of a cellphone was heard.

"Argh! S... sorry, it's my cell phone." England apologised.

China tilted his head. "Again? Russia's also rang earlier."

"Same here! We heard a piano!" Italy exclaimed.

England gave a puzzled look. "A piano? Well, anyway, I'll answer it."

No voice was heard, but there was a sound of a piano.

"It really was a piano. But it was a different note from the one that Russia heard. Italy, did you also hear a different note?" Japan asked.

Italy nodded. "Yeah, it was different."

"Only one note. That's the only thing in common. But there is no doubt that they're a big hint. We should all solve this one by one." England stated.

"Yes. If we do that, we'll soon be able to meet America and France. Though they'll probably get mad at us for taking so long." Japan said.

"Eh? What?" Italy said, confused.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" England asked as he furrowed his brows.

Japan then looked around him questioningly. "Er, what...Did I say something wrong?"

China turned to the man beside him. "... Russia."

Russia nodded. "Yes, I know. It's okay."

"Ex... cuse me?" Japan asked, obviously confused.

"You said 'something wrong'... was it on purpose? Not that I care to correct you, but...poor Prussia." England said sympathetically.

Italy agreed. "Yeah, why did you say France and America, Japan?

The ones we have to save are Prussia and France, right? Why did you say America?"

Now it was Canada's turn to get confused. "What?!"

"C-come on, now, what's wrong with you? We're here to save America, aren't we? Neither France nor Prussia came to this place." England explained.

Russia fell silent.

"Only... America? No, wait a minute..We-Well, America said at the meeting place that he wanted to come...

And I said... I'd come with him...so I came here with America..." Japan tried to remember.

"Wait? Japan, what's wrong with you? The three of us came here with Prussia, remember?

America didn't come, and France got separated from Russia and the others..." Italy told him.

"You guys..." China said as he tried to calm the others down.

"Wait! Wasn't America the only one who disappeared? Why do you keep bringing those two up?" England said, frustrated by all this.

Japan then gave an exasperated look.

_"What on Earth is going on...?"_


	11. Chapter 6 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER VI: Password (Part 1)- **

/Reader's PoV/

"What on Earth is wrong with you guys?" Canada asked his allies softly with a confused look.

Japan started to go around and talk to the others.

"A-am I wrong? But you came here with us, didn't you?" Italy asked Japan.

Germany was speechless for a moment, but then spoke. "...Maybe correcting time caused some sort of disturbance?"

I know this part of the game... Japan's gonna ask around and then...something...something's gonna happen after that...but...argh...I can't remember... What's next...?

"Do you remember fighting with me and Russia?"

"I am not that forgetful yet, you know." I overheard China and Japan's conversation.

Russia gave a small chuckle. "You two are so old~"

China looked up and placed a hand on his chin. "You failed to mention Prussia at that time, too. I thought you had simply forgotten, but you've been acting odd since then."

I walked over to England and asked him something. "You came here with China and some other guys...the Allies...I think..uh..right?"

"Eh? But I came here with Japan, love. When we got separated, that's when we found you, remember?" The Brit replied.

My eyes widened. "N-No that's not-"

Then suddenly, I heard a faint sound. That sound...it's...ticking?

I hear ticking. If I remember correctly... There's something we need to do...but what? Mhhhmm... I better remember quick...we're running out of time.

Wait..

Time? ...

I closed my eyes and tried to listen carefully.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

There is! There's a clock somewhere in the room.

I rushed over to Japan and whispered, "Japan... I hear a clock ticking."

He turned his head. "A clock?"

He then walks over to the corner of the room.

"Following the pattern so far, it should be here...

Ah, I knew it would be here. This is still worrying me. I think I should break it as soon as possible."

As Japan found the clock, I thought of something.

_What if I just explain to everyone what was going on.. Or at least warn them about what happens when they break the clock...? _

Suddenly I heard something loud. I turned to Japan. He was hitting the clock!

I walked over to him, "Wait-"

He wasn't able to hear me.

"There. One more..."

When Japan finally broke the clock. Everyone around me stopped moving. It seems that I was stuck in my place.

What's going on?

Luckily, I could still move my arms. I waved my hand and looked at the screen before me.

_A memory?_

Japan, America, and England were in front of the haunted mansion.

"Here! It's here! Just like the rumours said!" America exclaimed.

England cringed at the loud American's voice. "Hey, America, keep it down a little, will you?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong! Right, Japan?!" He turned to his Japanese friend.

_(Yes, yes, that's right! It really was America and England who came here with me.)_

_(We said that, and then we came in...and then...)_ Japan thought.

Suddenly the scene changed.

It was now Japan and Prussia who were in front of the mansion.

"Is this it? Are West and Italy really in this place?" The albino asked.

Japan nodded. "Haa... Indeed."

Prussia looked at the other skeptically. "... You're thinking, 'This sucks,' aren't you?"

"I-I'm not!" Japan denied.

_(No, that's not it. The one who came here with me was... Prussia! We decided to come and pick Italy and Germany up, so...)_

_(... No.)_

_(This isn't it. This memory is wrong...) _

The scene changed once more.

Now it was France, China and Japan.

The Frenchman gestured at the building. "So, this is the haunted mansion that America told us about?"

China nodded and grinned. "That's right! Let's hide before they get here and give them a fright!"

Japan sighed. "China... even if they didn't do the same to get back at you... and even if it weren't this mansion, you should be a little more reasonable..."

"It's now or never! You guys, get ready! He's coming this way with Italy!" China exclaimed.

"Pff...Wouldn't it be nicer if we just made something to eat together?" France suggested.

Japan agreed. "Definitely..."

_(This one is wrong, too...No, maybe it isn't wrong, but...No, it's wrong. This isn't what happened.) _

The scene changed again and this time, it was Japan, Russia, China, Prussia, Canada and France.

Japan inspected the mansion's front door. "It clearly looks like something is about to come out of it, though..."

"That's true~ Are they really in this place?" Russia asked with a childish smile.

Prussia looked at the tall man and spoke, "You go ahead and get in, Russia. Me and Japan are just gonna chill here and wait for you."

Russia pouted. "Aww, you're so mean! Come on, if the three of us go, I'm sure we can give the others a scare!"

"Erm, aren't you forgetting someone?" Canada asked softly.

Japan looked at his friends. "Prussia, Russia, please feel free to go ahead. Canada and I will be waiting here while we have some tea."

_(And then Germany got quite a scare...But Germany came with England and? No, this is wrong, too. This isn't me...) _

The scene changed yet again.

But this...this time... It was Italy, Germany, Japan and Prussia. Oh..this...

"Ve~ It's really here~" Italy said.

"I thought it was just a rumour...I never thought we would actually find it..." Japan admitted.

Prussia smirked and marvelled at the mansion. "It has such a desolate feel... Not bad."

_(Oh...)_

_(This memory...)_

=================/===================

And then the screen faded out.

After that, I was able to move again. I went back to the others before Japan did.

"...I think I'll go back to the others." Japan said to himself.

When Japan got back, the others were talking about a different matter.

"That's why I'm saying that this piece of paper might be a hint to some kind of hidden passage!" Germany pressed.

Japan tilted his head and asked, "Um, what? Now your priority is deciphering that password?"

Russia nodded. " Pretty much~ It looks like everyone decided that the other problem was too difficult and that we should first solve this, open the safe to find out what's inside...

And then give it some careful thought."

"Wait. Then someone's phone should have rung one more time. Shouldn't we wait for it?" China suggested them.

England squinted his eyes and spoke, "How can our phones even get calls if we're out of range? Besides, we don't even know who has been calling us. Should we blindly trust the hints they give us?"

"I'm getting a little hungry..." Italy said as his rubbed his stomach slowly.

Germany turned to his friend. "What are you looking like that for? Toughen up. Be strong."

I quickly opened my bag and grabbed a few biscuits. "Here, have some of these Italy."

"Uwaa~ Grazie, bella!" Italy said happily.

Aside from Italy's munching, everyone else were quiet. I knew what was going to happen next. Germany's phone was going to ring and-

A loud ring was heard.

"H-Huh...?" My eyes widened.

I felt something in my pocket vibrate. No way. My phone. It was my phone that was ringing! I took it out of my pocket.

"...There it is. _, answer it please." Canada asked politely.

I nodded and looked back on the screen of my phone nervously. " ...Right. I'll put it on speaker."

A sound of a piano was heard.

"... It was a piano, after all." Japan said in a low voice.

Russia spoke up. "Yep. Now, let's put the notes we heard together."

"The note we just heard was Si." I told them.

England spoke, "The note I got was Re."

"The note I heard? It was... Sol." Russia said.

We all turned to Italy who was in some sort of daze.

Japan looked at his Italian friend, with concerned eyes.

"Italy"

The Italian then snapped out of his daze and replied, "Oh, sorry, Japan. The note I got was La."

England nodded and spoke, "So, the notes we heard were Si, Re, Sol, and La."

"Let's take a look at the keyboard!" Italy suggested.

Russia inspected the keyboard and let out a quiet "Hmm..."

The others couldn't quite get what to get from the numbers on the white piano.

Canada, on the other hand, analysed the keyboard carefully and thought deeply about all the possible solutions. Finally, it hit him.

"...Oh! I've got it!I think I know how to solve this!" Canada said as snapped his fingers. His voice was a bit louder than usual.

Everyone's attention was on him now.

"It's a very simple password. You see, first, the notes that played were these four." He continued.

Japan looked at the keyboard once more and agreed. "You're right. There are even these numbers on the keys."

"So, it's 4269?" England concluded.

Canada shook his head. "No, not yet. Now, when you look at the piece of paper that Germany and Italy found...

... it's like this."

Canada put the two papers together.

"It matches the colours of the numbers on the keyboard.

If we match the numbers with their respective colours...

See? A perfect match."

I clapped my hands in amazement. I knew that he'd be the one to solve this in the game...but to actually hear it from him in his voice...feels so different. I also saw how he really thought about this carefully. It makes me wonder why in the world this guy's always forgotten.

"When you put it that way, it is rather , then, let's head to that safe." Germany said as he motioned us to leave the piano room.

"Yes."

Everyone started to leave the room. Almost everyone...

I waited til the guys were going downstairs before I stopped walking. I leaned on the wall in the hallway outside the piano room.

I heard Italy talk to himself.

"Haa... They solved it, after all..."

My heart suddenly started to pound nervously. I know this part of the game.

"Odd. I thought I'd done everything right, butit was no use, after all...I guess I really shouldn't have given them a hint." He said in a sad tone.

"But... No, never mind.I'm sure this is the right thing to do." He assured himself.

"Although...this _ girl was something unexpected. This...never happened before."

I suddenly tensed up from where I stood when I heard my name.

"No matter. I'm not making a mistake, right? Right.

Yep. I'm not making a mistake. I'm not making a mistake at all! But I wonder if Japan will get mad at me..." He thought out loud.

He gave a depressed chuckle. "Ahaha. Germany definitely will...He won't want to be my friend any more!"

_"We're almost there..."_


	12. Chapter 6 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER VI: Password (Part 2)-**

When I sensed that Italy was going to leave the room, as well, I hurriedly rushed down the stairs. I went over to the pantry room in the first floor.

They were in the middle of trying to open the safe...

"5294.."

*click*

It opened!

A small popup appeared before me.

_Obtained: Study Key. _

Study...

"Which door do you think it opens?" one of them asked.

"Ah... I think there was a door in this floor that I wasn't able to open before. Maybe that's the key." I told them.

Japan turned to me. "Which one?"

I placed my hand on my chin and tried to remember. "The one in the hallway near the Tatami rooms, I think."

"Ah. That's right. Italy and I went there earlier. There was a locked room there." Germany confirmed.

Russia looked at the others. "Well, then..let's go."

We all headed to the study, walking in a quick but relaxed pace.

_Used: Study Key. _

We all went inside the study.

China looked around the room. "This place is almost empty, aru."

"Let's search the place." England instructed.

Ah... What were we supposed to do here..?

A switch was it?

I walked over to the slim Japanese man. "Oh. Japan, I'll check the bookshelf over there, you guys take a look at that er, table."

He nodded. "Alright."

I pretended to look through the books while I watched Japan from the corner of my eye.

"Oh. I found a switch." He reported.

Germany raised an eyebrow. "Really? Might as well press it."

The bookshelf in front of me moved.

"W-Whoa! Guys, over here." I said as I moved away from the bookshelf.

"It's a door!" China exclaimed.

Japan dusted his clothes and walked towards the door. "I'll check it out..."

I grabbed his arm. "Uhm, I want to go, too."

He gave a small smile. "Alright, let's go."

Japan opened the door and walked further into the room.

"I see something over there." He told me.

I locked the door behind me. If I remember correctly, it'll be Game Over if I dont..

He knelt down and picked up a small, metal object. "_-chan. I found a key."

A small popup appeared once more.

_Obtained : Basement Key. _

"Alright. Let's leave this room and go tell the others." I replied.

"Agreed."

When I opened the door, no one was inside the room.

Or so I thought.

"J-Japan!" I shouted as I saw the large monster getting near me.

Japan swiftly went out of the hidden room and looked at what made me frantic. "It's that Thing again! Quick let's run for it!"

I grabbed Japan's hand and ran out of the room. The Thing was still chasing after us. I decided to go to the safe room here.

The toilet.

When we were inside the restroom, everything became silent. It's gone.

"I think it's safe to go back now." I said as I let out a sigh of relief.

"Right."

We then went back to the Study room.

"Oh, you guys are back. Are you okay? Sorry you had to go through that." China said apologetically.

Japan shook his head. "No, on the contrary, I'm the one who should apologise for asking you to deal with this. We actually managed to escape easily."

"I wish it had been me instead, though... But you two are really fast, as well~" Italy complimented.

Canada walked over to me and gave my head a soft pat. "You guys did very well. And we found the clock!"

I smiled at him and looked at the clock. It was ticking ever so loudly.

"The key we found leads to the basement, right? Before we go, though, we have to settle this memory confusion." Russia told us.

Germany took a step forward and looked at us. "Each one of you has three minutes. If you have something to say, raise your hand."

England raised his hand slowly. "Er, can I go first, then?"

We nodded.

"I don't think it's just me, but... didn't you notice anything when you broke the clocks?"

China tilted his head and faced England. "...You noticed it, too? Then it wasn't just my imagination."

Russia squinted. "You mean we all get false memories whenever we break a clock?"

"R-really?" Germany said, dumbfounded.

I wanted to say something, but all I could muster was, "..I..." No one heard me.

"...When we broke the clock in the piano room,I got memories of coming here with Japan and others. But..." China said, unsure.

Russia closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Our memories are all tangled, but first, let's try to remember how we started."

"It all started at the world meeting. We were all gathered in a single place, including those who are missing now." England explained.

Japan agreed and continued for England. "Right. There is no doubt that this was where we started. So, America had heard rumours about this mansion and said he wanted to come to see what it was like."

"The meeting had ended and we had nothing better to do, so I came with America, China, Russia, France, and England..." Canada said softly.

"We also invited Japan, but he didn't come. That's why I sent him a message right before I came into the mansion." China added.

Germany crossed his arms. "When he saw that message, Italy began to say that he wanted to come, too, and the three of us headed here, along with my brother."

Italy shifted nervously. "... Yeah."

England clicked his tongue. "But I also have different memories. I remember coming with America and Japan, and it was China who got separated from us, not France."

Italy suddenly piped up. "Maybe we're getting confused because there are several mixed memories? We don't know which one is right... and it makes us draw the wrong conclusions."

Russia cupped his chin and thought for a while. "Ah, that's also an idea... When false memories get mixed in to hide the truth, we get confused and don't know what is what. And once you suspect something..."

To my horror, he suddenly locked eyes with me before continuing his statement,

"_...everything else becomes suspicious._"

Like, whoa there, Russia. Why am I the suspicious person here? I mean...okay he's got a reason...but Italy's hiding something here, too...and-OH. You'll be suspicious later, too. So don't be like dat man. I avoided his gaze and stared at the floor instead.

"Well, then, that means that from now on,whenever we break a clock, we'll get a lot of false memories, but we shouldn't believe any of them!" Italy told us.

Japan agreed. "If we invite confusion... Right, I think we must discard those fake memories without believing them."

China rolled his eyes. "What a bother. Also, we have to be ready to get strange memories while we break the clocks."

"Right. If you can discard them without worrying about them, you should definitely do so." Germany said.

They all nodded.

"Anyway, I'm going to break this clock. If you get any strange memories, just forget about them right away.

Don't forget whom you came with or how you came to be here now." Germany instructed us.

England let out a sigh and looked at his watch. "Y-yeah, if we don't break it, time won't go back to normal. We have to break it as soon as possible."

Italy nodded cheerfully. "Ve~ Right."

I looked at him in disbelief before proceeding to stare at the ground while clenching my fists.

_They're being fed with lies._


	13. Chapter 6 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER VI: Password (Part 3)-**

/Reader's PoV/

_They're being fed with lies._

I know what's going on...but I don't know...if I should interfere...

What is my place here? Why am I even here?

I do not know.

Should I stop them? Should I tell them the truth?

I don't know.

But what if I mess it all up? What if everything becomes worse? What will I do then?

...I don't know.

What if someone else happens to interfere and puts everyone here in grave danger? Will I be able to stop those people?

...I don't know.

And what if... what if I **die** here?

I actually do have a choice. That man in the pink sweater vest gave me an option...but it came at a price... I can't... I can't do what they want...

One thing I know is that I can't trust...those _Second Players_...

I don't know what they can do. I don't know what I can do.

My memory isn't working well with me either. I don't even get why I suddenly faint and have blurry vision every now and then. What's wrong with me?

This is getting so frustrating.

I did say that I know a lot about this game...

...but what if what I knew was just the tip of the iceberg?

So much that is known...yet so much is unknown...

All I know now is that...if that's the case...

_...This isn't just a game anymore._

"_? Are you _aru-right_?" China asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Wait. Did you just ask me if I'm..._'aru-right'_?!" I replied, trying not to laugh out loud.

China suddenly got flustered after realising what he said. "A-Aiyah! You must've heard me wrong, aru! I meant to ask if you were-okay, aru!"

"Hahaha...suuuurree...But to answer your question: Yes. I'm okay, China. Thanks." I said between my giggles.

China is a little bit forgiven now-not fully forgiven for cutting me off a while back before though! ((xD))

But at least he lessened my stress... Time to get back on track.

"Are you guys all ready now?" Germany asked us.

We all nodded.

He nodded, as well. "All right, then..."

He broke the clock into tiny pieces.

Once more, everything is at a standstill. Yet, I'm the only one aware of this.

I wave my hand and see what's happening...

It's a scene in Japan's memory.

I squinted as I looked at the game screen.

Japan sees Prussia and goes over to him.

_Japan: (Prussia!_

_This is a memory from when I first reunited with Prussia, but...I feel as though I'm forgetting something..._

_Something is missing.)_

Prussia: Hh! Who's there!?

Japan: Woah! C-Calm down! It's me!

Prussia: Oh, it's you Japan? Ah... Sorry.

Japan: (Something... something is different.)

(I reunited with Prussia and then we went to see Germany...)

Japan: What's the matter?

Prussia: Don't you hear the sound of... something...getting closer?

The Thing suddenly enters the room, shocking the two of them.

Japan: ... That's?

(It came in?!)

(Hold on, _-chan's not with us here... She was the one who asked for the key to make sure... I see... The lock...)

The Thing began to charge towards Japan.

Prussia: Watch out!

The albino pushed the Japanese man away from the bloody grey monster and took a harsh blow.

Japan: Oh!

J: Prussia!

P: Son of a-!

Prussia defeats the Thing but...

Prussia: ... Ow... This is bad...

He collapses, blood gushing out of his body. My hands suddenly start to tremble.

Japan: Prussia!

H-hold on! I'll stop the bleeding with some sheets!

Prussia: No, it's okay... I'm a nation... I won't... die...

Ah... but, I'm not... a nation any more, am I? I told you that...

Japan: S-stop it! I'll call Germany! Please, this isn't the time for jokes!

Prussia: Are... West and... Ita... all right?

Japan: ...Yes.

Both have already left the 'll go home, too. Germany and Italy are waiting for us.

Prussia: Kesese! Yeah... We'll all go to your house...and go to... the hot springs...

Japan: (Because I wasn't with _-chan... I didn't think of locking the door...so...Prussia had to...)

Japan: (But..._-chan was with me and... she did lock the door. And Prussia is alive... This memory... it must be fake.)

(I know which one is true. He wouldn't die in a place like this.)

The scene changes into an unknown room.

Japan: ?!

What's this room?!

Germany: Damn it! Even though the four of us got together, the situation hasn't got any better!

We're still locked up in here and that fucking monster is still after our asses!

Japan: (This wasn't supposed to have happened on Earth...?)

Prussia: West, don't be so pessimistic. Someone will eventually notice that some nations are gone, even if it's only a few, and they'll come to help...

Germany: We-We're being eaten one by one...That's what I would do, if I were the Thing!

Italy: ...

Prussia: That's enough, West! There are still many other ways to get out of here!

Germany: ... Sorry.

I can't... think like that, but... I feel as though I'm in a battlefield. Though, if it were one, I could keep myself together and protect you...

I want to change this.

Japan: You can't help it. You hate this kind of thing.

Italy: ...Germany.

Germany: Hmm?

Italy: It's okay; you will be okay.

_**You'll be able to get out this time. And if you get out, run straight ahead.**_

Don't look back, no matter what happens, and get time-

Japan: (Time?)

(What is Italy talking about?)

The Thing suddenly appears behind Italy.

Japan: Italy!

Prussia: Italy!

Italy's eyes well up and gives his friend's a sad smile.

Italy: Promise me, Germany.

Japan: (Italy is going to...)

Germany: I..ta..lyyyy!

Suddenly, the screen goes black and time went back to normal.

Everyone was able to move again.

I was able to move again, as well. But...I feel so faint...

I can't hold myself up anymore.

My legs gave away and I collapsed on my knees.


	14. Chapter 6 (Part 4)

**-CHAPTER VI: Password (Part 4)-**

"(Name)! W-What happened?" Canada asked me worriedly.

England went beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "L-Love, you look so pale. What's wrong..?"

I spoke up weakly, "I'm...alright...But..." I looked to the side to look for Japan. I saw him looking like in a worse condition than I am. I pointed at the slim man before speaking up once more. "Is...Is J-Japan alright?" Their eyes turned to the Japanese man as I gathered my strength to get up.

Italy looked at his friend. "Japan!? Japan, are you okay?"

Japan suddenly lurched towards Italy and grabbed both of the Italian's shoulders.

"Italy!"

Italy squealed at his friend's sudden action. "Ow! Wh-what's the matter?"

As I took a step to go and comfort Japan, I felt my knees give up on me once more. I staggered and almost fell down again. Good thing Russia was kind enough to catch me before I fell.

"Hold on, you are not 'alright'. You can't even hold yourself up. Just hold on to my arm for support in the meantime. Don't push yourself, da?" He told me, his voice progressively soothing and turning into a caring tone.

China looked at me and Japan in total concern. "Aiyah. Wh-What's happening to these two?"

Canada walked over to Japan. "Japan! Do you remember what we said about the clocks?!"

After hearing this, Japan started to slowly calm down. "Oh...I-I'm sorry. I'm fine. I remember."

China furrowed his brows. "You get a lot more memories than the rest of us, and they are more intense, too."

Germany turned to me as I was clinging on to Russia to stand up. "(Name)? Will you be okay..?"

I let go of Russia's arm. I was able to stand up on my own again...well, a little. I walked a few steps forward.

I was looking down, I don't know how to answer Germany's question...

England suddenly lifts my chin.

"You're...I'm sorry but...(Name), are you...crying..?" He asked me.

My hands shot up to my cheeks. I felt the warm tears flowing down. Why...? I slowly knelt down again.

England then handed me a handkerchief. After that, he looked at Japan and I.

"You two... Do you need to rest a little?" He asked us.

Japan shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I was just confused."

After a short moment, I wiped away my tears using the handkerchief and stood up.

I gave them a small, grateful smile. "I-I'm fine. Thanks... just...a bit uneasy on this whole situation..."

"I see. Well..everyone else seem..fine." Japan said as he checked on the others.

Germany shrugged. "Nothing happened to me. To tell the truth, I haven't got any confusing memories or anything like that even once so far.

I haven't been confused at all... Maybe I've just been exempted?"

"I'm...exempted, too? I only have one memory of how I got here.." I told them.

Canada gave a soft chuckle. "Ahaha, I'm so jealous! In my case, it was so-so. I remembered running from the Thing with Italy, and coming here with America..."

China nodded in agreement. "Me, too. But once I calmed down, I realised that was nonsense! And then I forgot about it right away!"

"When we go through it again, it's a feeling similar to waking up from a dream.

When we wake up, we have trouble separating dream from reality, but as soon as we calm down, our good judgement comes back. The first thing to do is calm down." England explained.

Japan suddenly shifted nervously and spoke up slowly.

"Um...Didn't you... see any rooms other than the ones we've been in so far?"

Russia shook his head. "Nope. I've got many memories, but they've all been of rooms we've been in so far."

"Did something happen to make you worry?" Italy asked in a concerned tone.

"...No." Japan replied flatly.

"_(When we break the clocks, we get false memories that make us confused and less capable of discernment.)_

_(There is no question about it. It's only because I'm confused...Yes, that has to be it.)_" Japan thought to himself.

"Okay, are your watches all right? Then let's go to the basement." England said as he gestured towards the door.

Japan kept on pondering on what happened. "(It's like seeing many movies and being shown so many things that you end up not knowing what is real.)

(But if by any chance that room does exist, that means Italy will...)"

I picked up my bag, but Canada offered to carry it for me, so I watched Italy and Japan converse as the Canadian adjusted my bag to fit him.

"Japan?" Italy asked.

"Italy." He replied.

Italy tilted his head to the side. "Yeah? What's wrong?"

"Are you...

Are you hurt somewhere?"

The Italian tensed up after hearing his friend's question.

"...No, I'm not hurt at all."

Japan closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "I see. I'm sorry for asking such a strange question."

After that, Italy went ahead and left the room.

"I know this isn't really important, but I just wish I could rest somewhere without having to worry..." China told us.

Canada agreed as he took a deep breath. "Indeed. I'm so fatigued,I just wish I could lie down for a bit."

Japan kept on thinking. "_(We have to be careful...)_

_(We thought we were being deceived by those memories, but... maybe...)_"

****

**They could be...a message from someone?**


	15. Chapter 7 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 1)-**

/Japan's PoV/

Cautiously, we all went to the door to the basement. I took the key and slowly turned the knob until I heard it click. Before entering, I looked at everyone and they gave me a nod in agreement. I opened the door and led everyone inside.

It was pretty empty, as I expected. But when we walked further, I spotted another door.

"Oh. A room." I said out loud.

At that, Italy went up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Ve~ Let's check it out, Japan."

I nodded and walked over to door and entered the new room with Italy.

It was just a normal looking room. But I'm positive that there's got to be something in here.. I wonder if there's something of use in these drawers.

I opened the dusty drawers one by one. There, I saw a key.

"Hey, Japan." Italy suddenly said.

I looked over to his general direction and raised and eyebrow. "Yes? What is it?"

"Haven't you been brooding about something for a while?" He said, looking down to his feet.

I do not know how to respond truthfully to his query, so I only replied, "Have I?"

Italy raised his head to look at me straight in the eye. "Are you hung up on something? You've been odd since we broke that clock."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. What about you, though? You're shaking a little."

"What, really? Isn't it just your... imagination? Um, l-listen... if you saw anything, it was all a lie; you shouldn't think about it." He said in a nervous manner.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "... Shouldn't I think about the confusion being a hint? I was just trying to rethink some ideas?"

To my surprise, Italy's expression suddenly turned dark and he suddenly replied harshly, "NO!"

"Italy?!" I managed to squeak out.

"Just forget it! Forget it right now! Don't even think about those strange things!" Italy shouted, his voice raising but at the same time...trembling. It was...in such a..._desperate_ tone.

Before I could ask him-or even say anything to at least console him, he stormed out of the room.

I could only let out a sigh of frustration. "Italy..."

/Reader's PoV/

While Italy and Japan were checking out the room we saw in the basement, the rest of us waited outside.

I waved my hand to see what progress the two made inside the other room, when Russia tapped my shoulder.

"Hmm? What are you waving your hand for, (Name)?" He asked, peering over my side.

England also caught this and spoke up, "Oh right... I also saw you doing that a while back."

"Ah, well..uhm..y-you see i-it's.." I stammered. I got caught off-guard, not knowing how to answer them.

As if I was saved by the bell, the door from the other room opened. It was Italy. He looked...exasperated or some sort.

After that, Japan went out of the room, too.

"We found a key. Let's investigate some more." He said.

We all nodded and proceeded through the other hallway further in the basement.

Then, we entered a room that had some blue sofas. It wasn't that interesting, but then I saw the corner of the room. The wallpaper there was a bit torn. Now, following gaming logic.. there's got to be something fishy there. So I told Japan to check it out.

He knocked on it.

"That was... the sound of a door .There's a cut on the wallpaper. I'll tear it off." He announced.

After some careful peeling, a door was revealed. Japan marveled at the door then opened it for us.

"Ah, there was a hidden door, after all. Let's proceed with care."

After going through some more doors, we ended up seeing a door made of steel. This must be for the key they found.

We entered the room to our right and saw something that shocked them.

"You!" Japan exclaimed.

There was a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing glasses and a brown bomber jacket.

AMERICA. It's America! This is my first time seeing him in person, so I just stood there dumbfounded.

"Japan, it's you! What are you doing here?!" he asked loudly behind the bars.

England suddenly got worked up upon hearing the American's voice. "We're the ones who should be asking you that! We were wor-wondering where you were! What the hell have you been doing?!"

Before America could reply, another blonde haired, blue-eyed man stepped up front. He was older looking, with a beard...and very fancy clothing. I haven't even recovered from seeing America yet...now I have to deal with seeing...FRANCE-in person.

"Anyway, could you please open this door for us? We can't open it from here, you see~" The Frenchman said in a thick accent.

"Ah, yes, of course. I'll open it right now." Japan said as he walked over to open the cell door.

As they got out of the cell, America let out a sigh of relief. "Phew~ Thanks! This was a good place to take refuge in, but then we couldn't get out and we've been waiting for you guys to get here!"

"This is the only time we're doing you this favour!" China said, crossing his arms.

Germany turned to face his older brother. "Oh, well...Anyway, Prussia, what were you doing here, again?"

"You guys wouldn't wake up! I had a really hard time after that! It's a miracle I'm still alive!" Prussia replied, raising his hands.

"Prussia, you were gone when we woke up. Was it because you encountered that thing?" Japan asked.

"Oh, I was having fun keeping watch, someone suddenly began to pound on the door." Prussia explained. Then, he turned to his side and pointed at France before continuing,

"When I opened it, I found it was HIM. "

"His face was a masterpiece. But he came out swinging his sword at me and I got a little injured." France said, clutching his shoulder.

Prussia gave a pout. "Aw, come on, I said I was sorry! It was just a flesh wound, anyway!"

France continued their story. "Anyway, while we were out in the hall, we were exchanging some information,when suddenly-"

"-that monster came out of fucking nowhere! I wasn't ready to fight and my sword wasn't sharp enough and we got injured. We were in big trouble!

Waking you guys up would only make things worse, though, so we fought in the hallway. We were at a disadvantage, so we ran away to the first floor." Prussia cut in.

"And then, before we knew it, that monster was there ahead of us, attacking America. We were going to sneak away behind its back, but then America waved his hands and said, _'Hey~! Over here~!'_ with a huge grin... So we got dragged into it." France told us as he rolled his eyes over to America.

"I couldn't fight it alone! What's the problem?! I just thought we'd have three times more chances to beat it?" America said in his defence.

"So, since we weren't ready to fight, we couldn't fight, and we ran away to this place. We took refuge in that cell, but then we couldn't open it from inside, so we had no choice but to wait for you guys to find us." Prussia finished explaining.

I went up to Prussia and pinched his cheeks.

"No wonder you disappeared just like that. I was worried! I heard some sort of sword clashing outside, and when I opened the door, no one was there!" I said, slightly pouting.

The albino winced at the sudden pressure on his cheeks. "Ow... But, awww.. Thanks for worrying, frau. Hey, at least the awesome me and the others are all okay!" He said, after I let him go.

"I suppose..." I said in response.

Suddenly, France stepped closer to Prussia and I.

"Mon dieu! Prussia, my friend! Who is the lovely mademoiselle?"

"Yeah. I was also curious about the dudette over there." America piped in.

Once more, I gave an awkward wave at them.

Prussia placed an arm over my shoulder. "Oh, this is (Name). She's stuck here with us, too."

France made a flashy pose and spoke. "Bonjour, (Name)~ I'm France. ;)"

"Uh, hello."

"And I am America! Don't worry about getting out of here, dudette. I'll get you out of here because I'm the HERO! Hahahahahaha!" America said loudly. I swear, it's like I can actually see an American flag in his background as he gave a thumbs up sign and laughed. I laughed along with him.

Canada smiled and spoke up softly. "... We need to explain to them what is going on. Why don't we split up into two groups?"

"Indeed. Their injures aren't that severe, either. I'll keep looking around the basement." Japan said.

Canada nodded. "England and I will stay to lecture America."

"I have some things to tell them, too." Germany told them.

"Then I'm coming with Japan!" America exclaimed, grabbing Japan's arm.

China crossed his arms and spoke, "Weren't you listening? We're going to explain to you what's going on, so you have to stay!"

"Aww, do I have to? Japan can explain to me, can't you, Japan?" America turned to Japan, making a puppy dog face.

_"It had to be the slowest to understand..."_ Japan thought to himself and sighed.

After careful thought, Japan eventually agreed. "Very well. I would be glad to do it."

"Oh, I want to take a look around, too. Can I tag along with you, Japan?" I asked him.

"Of course, (Name)-chan." He replied.

Japan turned to the others. "Well, we'll go and look around. We'll see you later."

"I'm coming with you, too!" Italy said.

Japan shook his head and spoke, "No, we'll be 'll just look around and we'll be right back. Canada, England, we'll lecture him on your behalf."

"Give him a good earful." Canada said as he crossed his arms.

"No, wait. I'm coming with you. There's something that has been bothering me." England told Japan.

"Er, but..." Japan tried to protest.

"It's just something I want to check out. Please." England pleaded.

"I see. You may come along, then. We'll be back in about 15 minutes. See you later." Japan said to the others as we left the room.

Italy gave an upset look and spoke softly. "Japan..."

The four of us walked through the hallway until we entered another room. It was pretty small, with shelves filled with various books.

England stopped and scanned the room, as if searching for something there. "There's something about this room that is bothering me."

I turned to him and asked, "Hmm? What is it, England?"

"No...I'm not sure yet...I guess I'll check it out later." He replied.

"Very well. Now, let's hurry." Japan said as he motioned us to proceed walking.

We passed by some rooms until we entered through a door that led us to a dark place that had walls that looked jagged and dusty. Good thing I had a flashlight with me. I handed it over to Japan as he led us through the unknown hallway.

As I was walking, I accidentally stepped on my shoelace and almost tripped. Good thing America reacted fast enough and caught me.

"Whoa, dudette! Gotta be careful." America chuckled, giving my hand a light squeeze.

I felt my face heat up from embarrassment. "Th-Thanks, hero." I told him as I took a step back and straightened my clothes.

"HAHAHAHA! No, problem!" He said in his usual tone.

"...Hero, huh?" Japan said out loud in a low voice.

"Yeah! The one and only!~" America grinned.

England clicked his tongue. "Ugh. Don't let him get too full of himself, love." He told me whilst rolling his eyes at the American.

"Aww, c'mon Iggy! Just accept it!" America said, crossing his arms.

"You're being completely preposterous. Also, I already told you not to call me that!" The Brit snapped.

Suddenly, Japan stopped walking, making me bump into him.

"Oww..S-Sorry, Japan. Uh. Hey, why did you stop, anyway?" I asked.

He pointed the flashlight to the wall in front of us and spoke. "This rope ladder..."

All four of us looked up to where the ladder went. Ever so faintly, we saw light. It was sunlight. It led to the outside of the mansion! I remember this from the game, now! I also remember that...this ladder will prove to be useless. I let out an unnoticeable sigh. The others, on the other hand, had newfound hope in their eyes.

"We've got it! I can even see outside! We can finally get out!" England exclaimed in relief.

Japan gave a small smile and took a deep breath. "Thank God...Let's call the others here, quickly!"

England nodded and grabbed my arm. "Yeah! C'mon, (Name)."

"Okay!" I replied.

England and I ran back together, leaving Japan and America behind.

/Japan's PoV/

Before I could even tell the two to be careful, they were already out of our sight. I turned to America and motioned him to follow them and go back.

"Well, let's go." I told him.

I was about to start walking, when America placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Hold on, Japan."

I was silent. I waited for him to continue speaking.

_"I haven't asked why you brought me along yet."_ He said in a serious tone.

I couldn't help but smirk at his words. "Well, you've grown sharper."

America crossed his arms, closed his eyes and spoke, "Mhmm.. I've been 'reading the atmosphere' a lot today. Thanks to that, I got what you were saying earlier at once."

I gave out a small chuckle before replying,

**_"Right. Then it looks like we're going to have a nice chat together."_**


	16. Chapter 7 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 2)-**

Meanwhile...

* * *

/England's PoV/

* * *

(Name) and I noticed that Japan and America were still behind, so we decided to wait for them in the room that I wanted to look in. I turned to her and asked, "Mind if I check something in this room for a while, (Name)?"

She shook her head and smiled. "No. Go ahead. I was going to take a look on my phone and see if I could get a least a single bar of signal or something. But, what are you going to do here?"

"There's something unsettling about this room...Something that feels like it's pulling me..." I said, unknowingly in a dazed state.

"Hmm?"

I shrugged and snapped myself out of my thoughts. "O-Oh, it's nothing much.."

As (Name) took her phone out and sat on one of the chairs, I went over to the bookshelves.

I flipped through the pages. I noticed _ look at her phone with a shocked expression.

Her face turned pale, as well.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

She looked up and turned to me, shaking her head. "N-No...It's just that...there's still no signal..ahaha... I guess I hoped too much."

"...Alright, then." I told her as I resumed looking through the books.

"Not here, either. Maybe... in the back of the bookshelf?" I mumbled to myself.

I grabbed the bookshelf and pulled it to the side so that I could see anything in the back. To my surprise, I saw some kind of seal.

Huh? A magic circle with my hand-writing? What is it doing here?

Well, whatever. Anyway, what is it sealing?

I placed my hand on the seal. A small glow emanated from it, but then grew to a giant flash of light.

"W-Wow. What was that just now, England?" (Name) exclaimed after uncovering her eyes from the sudden flash of light.

I suddenly felt a surge of strength return to me.

"Ooh! Some of my magic is back!" I told her happily.

* * *

_*England's magic is 30% back.*_

* * *

"R-Really? That's great!" She said, giving a warm smile.

"This is it! I was worried for a while there,but now I can at least try to fight the Thing if I need to!" I said, pumped up to show (Name) my skills.

She was about to say something, when I saw Japan and America walk into the room.

"Hey, you two! What took you so long?!" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Japan tilted his head. "Did something happen?"

"You could say that! Next time, I won't be such a burden any more." I announced.

America stepped forward and creased his forehead. "What, you were a burden before? Well, if you say so."

"Now I can easily stop that guy. Though only for a few ... about two seconds..." I told them, starting to feel a little embarrassed.

They all fell silent. Even (Name) had a sullen look on her face all of a sudden. Japan and America looked at each other.

"Wh-what? If I can replenish it a little more, it can be longer-" I tried to defend myself.

(Name) shakes her head and gives warm smile, but she didn't say anything.

Japan then spoke up, "Ah, no- didn't mean it like that. Er, how can I put this?"

Suddenly, I noticed (Name) look from side to side as if she was searching for something.

"I...hear something..." She said slowly.

I faced her. "What is it, love?"

"..._Ticking_. I hear a clock ticking...where is it..?" She told us as she began walking around.

America tried to look for it, as well. He looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, I see it! Look, on the shelf!"

America reached for the clock and brought it down for us to inspect.

"I see. It certainly is one." Japan nodded.

I sensed something shocking from the clock. "Hm? This clock is working with my magic. What the hell?"

"Anyway, can you break it now? If I don't go through that even once, I won't know how to deal with it." America said impatiently.

"You-Then I'll just sit back and laugh at you being all confused and panicking!" I smirked at him.

"Please, don't fight. Besides, we've already found an exit, so I don't think it's necessary to break the clock." Japan said, not wanting to have a ruckus.

"Aww, but I want to get more experience! It's not every day one can do that kind of thing. Can't I try it even once? Pretty please?" America pleaded.

Tsk. I hate it when he does those puppy-dog eyes...just like when he was small...N-Not that I give in just because of that or anything! Sigh. I suppose we could let him...

"Hmph! I'll break it, then! Just don't come crying to me later!" I told him.

_It's not like I can't resist him or a-anything._

* * *

/Reader's PoV/

* * *

_"He totally can't resist him._" I thought to myself and chuckled.

I watched as England took the clock in his hand, and broke it using his magic.

Once more, we were all stuck in a standstill. Like always, I waved my hand to see the memories that the clock held.

The screen showed Prussia, Japan, Germany and Italy walking through the tunnel to the exit.

* * *

_"Aah, we can finally escape! At long last..." Prussia exclaimed in relief._

_" ... Yeah." Italy said, uncharacteristically unenthusiastic._

_Germany starting walking forward. "You're too slow. I'll just go ahead."_

_"I wish the others had come, too...but they really like adventures a lot." Japan told_

_them._

_Italy looked down quietly, when suddenly, they heard Germany shout. They all looked at each other. Italy turned pale and dashed ahead. "Germany!"_

_"What happened? Did you fall over?" Prussia called over to his brother._

_Japan turned to Prussia. "Let's go."_

_As they met up with Germany, they saw that the terrifying monster burnt the ladder down._

_"J-Japan! Run, quickly!" Germany yelled at them trying to get them away._

_"Oh, God... Why...?" Italy muttered, tears springing from his eyes._

_Prussia motioned all of them to make a run for it. "What are you standing there for?! Let's go! West, you too! Come on, quickly!"_

_Germany clicked his tongue and punched the wall beside him. "Damn it! Just when we'd finally found an exit!"_

_They all dashed back, but suddenly, Germany trips and falls over._

_"Shit?!"_

_Germany was immobilised, the monster creeping up behind him._

_"Damn it... Is this it...?!" He thought as he closed his eyes._

_**Lost Germany.**_

* * *

The screen faded to black, and I saw Japan speak. His thoughts were flashed on the screen.

* * *

_Japan : (... Is this one of the possibilities of what may happen from now on? Am I glimpsing an event that might take place, after all?)_

_(No, I can't just worry about it; I have to do something. Maybe if I let Prussia know what happened?)_

* * *

_"Prussia! Wait! Germany tripped over a rock!" Japan yelled._

_Prussia stopped and turned to dash over to his brother. "West!"_

_"Just go! Don't come back!" Germany ordered._

_"Shit! My foot got caught in a vine?"_

_Prussia disobeys his brother and rushes over to stand in his defense._

_"What the hell?! Why can't things ever go right for us?! Just when we were finally going to get out!" Prussia cried in a frustrated tone._

_Germany tried to get up, but it was useless. "Prussia! Stop it! Just run!"_

_"Everyone else died! We're the only ones who are still alive! You three go back! It's_

_just too much!" He said, bracing himself for the worst._

_**Lost Prussia.**_

* * *

Once again, the screen switched over to Japan's thoughts.

* * *

_Japan: (If I call him to a halt, the others will lose their lives, too..._

_Whether we are countries or people has no relevance in this place. I can't forget that.)_

_(I-I feel so helpless! If I... If I did something before?_

_I can't let Germany fall over in the first place._

_I have to do something before that can happen. If I do that, I'm sure it'll be all right!)_

* * *

_"Here! If I do something right here?" Japan thought to himself._

_Japan charges forward and attacks the Thing. The monster took a blow and backed up a bit._

_"This is the best case scenario so far!" Japan thought, a surge of hope coursing through him-distracting from the monster coming after him._

_"Ugh!" He let out as he coughed up blood._

_Germany rushed over to his friend. "Japan!"_

_"It's no good... Besides, the more memories I get, the stronger the enemy becomes..._

_Anymore of this-" Japan thought dimly._

_Italy clenched his fists and muttered, "I knew it..."_

_He looked at his friends with teary eyes and spoke once more, "Japan... Germany... Prussia. I'm sorry. Looks like we couldn't make it again..._

_It's got stronger than in the beginning... I can't do this alone..."_

_"I-Italy?" Prussia said, confused._

_Germany turned to his Italian friend. "Come on! Just run-"_

_"I'm sorry. I made a mistake yet again..." He said helplessly, stepping in front of the_

_Thing._

_"You idiot!" Germany yelled._

_Germany covers Italy from the monster._

_"West! Ita-" Prussia cried, trying to pull the two out of the way...but he was too_

_late._

_**Lost Italy and Germany.**_

* * *

_Japan: (I would still lose my friends in this case..._

_What can I do...? We might as well not come here at all. But if we do that, I'm sure you are going to show me yet another future, isn't that right?_

_You'll only tell me about the worst ends in which no matter what choice I make, I'll end up losing someone!)_

**_What can I do? What's the best thing I can do?_**

* * *

The screen fades to black and time starts to move once more. Everything goes back to normal, letting me move again.

* * *

/England's PoV/

* * *

"Are you all right, Japan?" I asked.

Japan placed his fingers on his temples. "... Yes."

"How about you, (Name)? We noticed that you don't see those fake memories, but you somehow become weakened or something... " I inquired, worried about the young lady.

"I'm..fine, thanks. I don't feel that drained..." She told me.

America turned to us and spoke, "That wasn't as fun as I thought it'd be. Um, so, which one is real, again?"

"Try to sort it out while we go back. If you still can't figure it out, ask Germany. He  
isn't being affected for some reason. Or, (Name)'s here." I told him, pointing at (Name).

She nodded. "Yeah. I've gathered some info on how you guys arrived here. So we can talk about it on our way back to the others."

"Right.. Thanks, dudette." America said, smiling at her.

While we were making sure there wasn't anything of interest that'll get left in the room, I noticed America staring at me, looking like he was deep in thought.

"...By the way, England, you look unfocused. How many fingers am I holding up?"

America asked, holding up his fingers in front of me.

After hearing that I saw that (Name) suddenly looked away... I wonder what's wrong?

"Huh? Two fingers, obviously. We don't have time for this nonsense." I responded. I don't get why he'd ask me something as random as that at a time like this.

* * *

/Japan's PoV/

* * *

"The possibilities are too many. It's too much for me to deal with... I feel like my head is going to explode." I thought to myself, my head starting to hurt from trying to think of what to do.

* * *

**_What can I do now? I can't do this alone..._**


	17. Chapter 7 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 3)-**

* * *

/Third Person PoV/

* * *

They all went back to where the rest were and gave them the "good news".

"Oh, you found an exit?" Russia asked.

England breathed a sigh of relief and motioned them to follow him. "Yeah! We can finally escape! Come on, let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we hurry?" Italy told them nervously.

America shook his head and grinned. "We already have an exit secured! I want to explore a little! All I've seen was the basement; I want to go upstairs, too!"

"Germany, you go ahead with the others. When America is like this, nothing can stop him." Canada sighed and rolled his eyes over to his brother.

(Name) walked over to the Canadian and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, uhm, Canada.. Thanks for carrying my bag for me. I'll be taking it now."

"Oh..you're welcome, (Name). Are you sure it's not too heavy for you?" he asked, worried about the girl's condition.

She flung the bag over her shoulders and gave a thumbs up. "Nah. It's fine~ Thanks."

"Well, we have to make sure that that rope isn't rotten. We'll go ahead and see if there isn't any problem." Germany announced.

China spoke up, " I'm splitting up for a while! I found some Chinese medicine that I wanted; I'll go get it!"

Everyone agreed to go about the house for a while before going home. As they were exiting the room one by one, Prussia called out, " Japan! Stay back; I want to have a word with you. The others can wait in the other room."

This made the Japanese man turn around with a puzzled expression on his face. He was silent for a while, but decided to give in. "Very well."

Prussia was about to say something else, when he saw (Name) from the corner of his eye and made his way over to the girl talking to Canada.

Canada faced the girl and spoke in a serious tone, "By the way, (Name). I want to ask you about somethi-"

"Ah, sorry to cut in your conversation, but I need to talk to the frau." Prussia said, apologising to them for disturbing.

"B-But..uhm...fine... I'll just ask her later, eh? See you later." Canada waved before walking out of the room.

France suddenly raised an eyebrow and called out to his friend in a loud voice. "Hold on! I wanted to get to know about the petite fleur!"

Prussia could only stick out his tongue to his French buddy. "Too bad, frau and I are gonna exchange e-mails. You go along with the others!"

France gave a small pout before huffing out, " Fine, then. I'll see you later~"

With that, everyone left the room except the three.

* * *

/Japan's PoV/

* * *

"So, what's eating you two?" Prussia asked us after making sure the others were out of earshot.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Prussia gave a skeptical look before speaking, " I'll start with you, Japan. I haven't been through it yet, but... you see things, don't you? When we break the clocks. C'mon, spit it out."

"... I'm sorry. I was trying not to show it." I admitted.

"You can tell me the details later. Just tell me the most important things now." my red-eyed ally said.

"...I'm... not sure what it means, but...

From now on... if I make a choice, I'll lose someone, and if I follow a different path to save them, I'll lose someone else..." I told them.

They were all silent as they waited for me to continue.

"I tried several options, but it was no use...The more I tried, the stronger the Thing became. I can't do this alone any more?-"

"You can't defeat it on your own? Then how did you do it until now?" Prussia cut in.

I thought carefully. "When it was necessary to fight... I defeated it with Italy and Germany... and with you. I also fought alongside Russia and China-"

Prussia crossed his arms and questioned my loss for words. "Huh! Why did you stop there?!"

"I-I'm sorry." I looked away.

"You tried several options, right? But did you talk to anyone about it before you tried them? Do you really think you can come up with a solution all on your own when this fight involves so many people?" Prussia said, making his point.

"Oh..." I said as I turned to him again.

"You should have said something before! But I'm glad you told me! Kesese!" Prussia grinned before turning to (Name). "...As for you, (Name)."

"...I...I'm not sure if I can tell you guys..." she turned away, not meeting his gaze.

He then placed his hands gently on her shoulders and spoke, "(Name)...you can tell us.. If there is something that you know you can't do alone, we're here. We're all here together. We can help you, frau. Trust us."

She looked up and thought for a moment before speaking.

"...I don't know if you'll believe me. That...ain't...mhmm.. it's quite a long story." she told us in an unsure tone.

Prussia shook his head and lifted her chin to face him. "Nonsense! We'll be hanging on your every word. We'll believe you. We promise."

She took a deep breath then spoke, "...This world... I'm...I'm pretty sure I don't belong here."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, creasing my forehead.

"From the world I lived in...you guys...are just fiction. You're all from an anime called, "Hetalia". It's one of my favourite animes.. And this...situation we're in...this is supposed to be a fanmade game." she told us slowly.

Prussia looked at her unbelievably and took a step back. "...N-No way! We can't be...this is all real... That's not..."

(Name) seemed to be hurt from what Prussia said, so she turned away from us.

"...I knew you'd never believe me."

I tried to comfort her by speaking up, "You've got it wrong, (Name)-chan. It...might be a bit hard to process...but if you say that that's the truth...we believe you. Right, Prussia?"

"Ja... I'm sorry about my reaction...But...uhm, I believe you...yet, I'm still sorta confused." Prussia apologised.

(Name) has still not turned around to face us, but she spoke.

"Prussia. Eastern part of Germany. Birthday: January 18. Height: 177 cm. Born to fight the same type of battles as Austria, but was a hooligan who did nothing but fight and avoided any marriage. He will do anything to become strong, and has an arrogant attitude, believing that he is more "awesome" than others, although he hasn't really succeeded at his goal."

"H-Hey, I've succeeded! ...Wait-how...did you know all that?" Prussia exclaimed in a confused manner.

"Amazing... It's because we're from an anime that you like.. That's why you know our personalities." I marvelled at her and the information she gave.

(Name) turned to face us.

"Yeah... There are times when I can't sleep at night and I read your character bios online... Sometimes I remember a whole lot of them, sometimes I forget... I don't know how my memory works, really. There are just times when it bursts with all the info...but then there are also times when it's just...blank. It's really annoying how I can't remember stuff when I want to..."

Prussia, still a little dumbfounded, managed to speak up again. "Wow... Uh, how about Japan's info then?"

_ cupped her chin and thought for a while. "L-Let's see...uhm.. Japan...Birthday: February 11th. Height: 165 cm. A shy, quiet, and hard-working man. Japan does not know very much about the outside world and needs time to adjust to other people. He tends to have a behaviour of an 'old man' and was a hikikomori for a long time."

My eyes widened as I heard her describe me perfectly, even if we haven't known each other for a long time. "Scarily...that is all true... But now the question is...how were you able to get to...this world?"

"About that...I still have no idea..." she shrugged.

"You...mentioned something about a game?" Prussia tilted his head.

(Name) nodded and spoke once more. "Yes... well... We're...in a game called HetaOni... It's hard to explain it, but well... The whole situation is the plot. Stuck in a mansion with a monster out to get us. And...well... I can actually monitor you guys as if I'm still playing the game."

"How can you do that?" I asked.

"If I wave my hand in front of me, a menu screen appears." she said, waving her hand in front of her.

I squinted, trying to see if there would be something to appear in front of her, but I saw nothing. "I'm sorry, but...I can't see anything."

"Yeah... It seems like I'm the only one who can see it. I usually use it to check our inventory-our stuff. And for battles. I can see who's health is getting dangerously low, or who needs to get energised again or whatever..." she explained.

Prussia snapped his fingers. "AH! Is that how you knew that we needed to eat the onigiris and drink the beer?!"

(Name) nodded.

"This is quite a discovery for us. It's actually unimaginable, but ever since we got here-everything seems to be possible at this point." I told her, feeling a bit more hopeful.

"Wait. So does that mean that you know what will happen next?" Prussia asked.

"W-Well, I have played this game before..." (Name) said, twiddling her thumbs.

Prussia placed his hands on his hips. "Then how come you didn't tell us sooner?"

"I-I'm sorry...but I have my valid reasons. I was really scared about trying to change the story... I mean...what if I make a decision to warn about the Thing but then end up with something else gone wrong?" she told us, her voice almost cracking.

"I understand. That's the same feeling that I have when I go through those memories when we break clocks." I reassured her.

"And also... it's like everytime I try to say something, I always get cut off."

She muttered something under her breath._ "China.."_

"What was that?" I asked her, not exactly catching what she said.

She shook her head. "N-Nothing. Anyways, I'm pretty sure I won't be interrupted this time..Well, I hope. And... I hope that I won't cause damage by telling you all that I know about this..."

"Don't worry, frau! We already found a way out and the awesome me is here with you! Now, just tell us what happens next." Prussia told her while giving her shoulder a friendly pat.

(Name) nodded. "...Okay, then. This game...is nowhere near over yet."

Prussia's eyes widened. "W-What?!"

"I...You know...You guys have no idea how this whole story tears my heart apart. I'm scared. I...I'm really scared about what will happen-not only about myself, but also about you guys! The whole time I've been here...I've constantly debated with myself about what I should do, what I should not do, how I can help, how not to be a burden... I'm really sorry. I have the information...but I was so afraid of what'll happen if I used it wrong." she said, her eyes welling up.

"C-Calm down, (Name)-chan. It's okay. We understand... But you said you've played this before, right? Then...you should already know what to do and not to do...?" I asked her.

"I already told you guys, didn't I? There are just times when my mind bursts with all the info...but then there are also times when it's just...blank. The inconvenience of this is that...I can't use the information I knew whenever I want." she told us with a sullen expression.

"Oh..." Prussia said as he looked down.

"When I played this game, I always had the 'Save game' option to rely on. When I'm unsure of the next step to take, I save the game. If it doesn't turn out right, I could easily reload the game and try again." she explained.

Prussia and I nodded, understanding what she meant.

"But...guys...this is...reality. Well, I'm still unsure of that but this is too realistic to call a dream. So...it's my current reality. I can't save at any checkpoint. I can't afford to take in too much risk...because the price to pay would probably be someone's life! And I can't do that! You guys... You may not know this, but I've grown very fond of you all. I've known and cared about you guys as anime characters before...but now... you guys are real. All real and in the flesh. What more now? I can't risk it." she told us, looking so fragile, like she was about to break.

Prussia also sensed this and pulled the girl into a hug and patted her head. "I'm...really touched, frau. I'm really sorry if I almost doubted you back there. But you know, we're all here now and it's safe to tell us what we can do for whatever may happen next."

"I feel the same as Prussia. We're really thankful for all your help so far, you know? You've been guiding us this whole time without us knowing. But please know you're not alone." I told her. It's a lot to process, what she said...but, from what she told us, she's done so much not just for herself, but for us.

Prussia broke away from the hug so he could face the girl. "Ja! You've monitored us and watched over us. Now, let us do the same thing for you. Let us be there for you. "

She wiped away a tear from her cheek and looked at us. "...Thank you... Alright then... I'm really happy you guys told me that, but you should also tell that to someone else."

"To whom?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well you see it's because o-..." (Name) suddenly stopped when she began to stagger a little.

I took a few steps closer to her. "A-Are you alright?"

She nodded, but held her head like she was in pain. "...Yeah...I'm sorry...I can hear...someone... no... I-I need to tell you..."

(Name) started to lose consciousness and almost collapsed on the floor. Good thing, Prussia caught her.

"F-FRAU!"

"(Name)-chan?! What... "

"**...26...**"

"Huh?"

"...I found out...th-that...there will a-actually..."

"(Name)!...Hold on...don't push yourself..."

"...th-there will actually be **26** people...in this mansion..."

"N-Nani?! Wait...but there's just...there's just 11 of us here!"

"...T-Two pl-"

Before she could finish what she was saying, she lost consciousness.

"I'll..I'll carry her. You take her bag. Let's go to where West and Italy are and get (Name) out of here! C'mon let's go!" Prussia instructed with a panicked expression on his face.

I have so many things to tell him, but didn't know how to start, so I started rambling, "Listen! That place is dangerous. If-If we go to that place, Germany will-Ah, I mean, you would be risking your own life, too... and even Italy-"

"State your opinion precisely and concisely. You think too much. That's why you're forgetting _something simple!_" he told me.

I pondered on what he just said. "... Something simple."

Carrying (Name) on his back, Prussia faced me with a serious expression and spoke, "First you remembered one thing! When you're that worried about stuff, you should tell people. You have to let us work together and give yourself some breathing space. Look at frau here, she's been bottling up soo much ever since she came here...and it looks like it's been taking out a lot of on her with all the stress...I'll give you points if you remember one more thing. Now, let's go."

"R-Right!"

Prussia leaves the room swiftly but carefully, carrying (Name).

_Since I've glimpsed so many possibilities...I'm sure the Thing has got stronger._

_With an enemy that grows progressively stronger... What can I possibly do...?_

* * *

Prussia and I arrived at the tunnel-like place in the basement where the rope ladder was located.

"West! We need to get (Name) out of this place, now!" Prussia frantically told his brother.

Germany turned with a concerned look forming on his face. "W-What happened to her?"

"She suddenly fainted while we were talking." his older brother told him.

"Oh no.. Then we better get bella out of here, quick." Italy said.

Germany then started running forward. "Then I'll go on ahead so that I can assist Prussia in bringing (Name) up."

"Oh! Germa-" I tried to call out to stop him, but he was already out of earshot.

* * *

_(There's no time left. I can't call out to him, nor can I physically stop him. I'm sure our enemy is stronger, too.)_

_(... Hm?)_

_(Wait a minute. Our enemy is definitely stronger. Whenever I glimpsed a memory,its strength and speed had increased greatly.)_

_(But it wasn't... just the enemy...)_

* * *

"Aaargh!" We heard Germany shout.

Italy's face suddenly turned pale. He quickly dashed to where his friend was. "Germany! What happened? Did you fall over?"

"Let's go." Prussia said as he motioned me to follow them.

_(Maybe what Prussia was trying to say is that?)_

* * *

_Germany's Torture level went up.  
Italy learned a new skill.  
Prussia learned a new skill.  
Japan learned a new skill._

* * *

"D-Did I just see something flash in front of me just now?" I suddenly said out loud.

I need to head over there, quick.

When we got there, the grey monster stood in front of the now-burnt ladder.

"...There it is." I managed to say.

"J-Japan! Run, quickly!" Germany ordered us.

Italy tried to grab Germany's arm and mine. "Let's go, quickly! I'm worried about the others!"

"Ah. I see now. This is what he meant..." Prussia said, realising what was in front of them.

(Name) suddenly stirs and awakens.

"W-Wha...? What happened...? And...what's happening..?" she croaked out.

"F-Frau! You're awake!" Prussia exclaimed as he let (Name) down gently. She was still in a bit of a daze for just waking up, but she approached her Japanese friend and asked for her bag.

When the girl turned to her side, she suddenly saw what their situation was. "S-Sorry about that! ...Oh shit. It's that Thing."

"Come on! Just run-" Germany said in a panicked manner.

Italy looked at us and spoke, "All together! That's it! If we run, we can still make it!"

Germany nodded. "Y-yes."

_(Our enemy may be tough, but I'm still faster. I can't do this alone. However...)_

"Japan!" Prussia called after me.

_(Now...)_

We all ran towards the door.

"Prussia! Wait! Germany tripped over a rock!" I yelled.

At that, Prussia suddenly turned back and ran over to where his younger brother was. "West!"

"Shit! Not in this place-Go! I can't get this vine off!" Germany shouted at us.

"...Hh! Germany!" Italy cried.

Prussia looked back at me. "Japan! Have you got your answer yet?!"

I fell silent.

Prussia suddenly lunged forward and hit the monster with his sword, causing the Thing to step back a little

Germany looked at his older brother with a pained expression. "Prussia! Why?!"

"Hey, West! Is this really the time to wipe the floor?!" Prussia joked with a sort of bittersweet chuckle.

Italy went over to his friend. "... I'm sorry. Are you okay, Germany?"

"Italy..." Germany looked up to his Italian friend.

(Ahh, I see. My mistake was to try to solve everything on my own.)

(And the reason why we kept being defeated was my narrow-mindedness. I didn't observe anyone but the enemy.)

I quickly rushed over to the others.

"This is my answer! The enemy is stronger, but so are we. If we all join forces, we can defeat it!" I exclaimed, drawing my sword.

Prussia smirked. "Heh. Well done!"

"You idiots! Why did you come back?!" Germany asked with a sullen expression. It seems he didn't want us to get hurt along with him.

"You want to know why I came back?" Prussia said whilst holding his arms up to somehow cover Germany from the monster.

Germany's light blue eyes widened when Prussia continued,

"Because...

* * *

**I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't help my little brother!**"


	18. Chapter 7 (Part 4)

**-CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 4)-**

* * *

...And with that, the battle between them and the monster began.

Sword clashing, hits and blows, stuns and flashing lights...that's what they had.

While the four men were fighting, the girl who was standing behind them at a safe distance suddenly went up to them cautiously and said to them,

"Listen to me for a sec... Italy, I suggest you use Peperoncino to lower the enemy's speed and agility. Japan, you have a new skill called String. Germany's skill Torture has leveled up to 30. Prussia, you have a move called, "If You Want To Die, Step Forward."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Germany asked her, confused.

Japan was unfazed and nodded. "I see. We'll use all those skills."

They continued their battle, hitting with all their might and trying to avoid the blows towards them. The monster seems to be slowing down, but not yet that weakened.

"Argh... Why aren't my attacks doing enough damage..?" Prussia complained.

The girl opened her bag and grabbed a can. "You're out of MP. Here, drink a beer first. Germany, cover us for a while."

While she handed the beer to Prussia, their Italian comrade got attacked by monster.

"O-Ow... I got hit a little..."

"Your HP's cut in half! Hurry, eat this." (Name) said in a panicked manner as she held a rice ball in front of the Italy.

"The onigiri? B-Bella, now's not the time to e-mmphfff!" he got cut off when the girl literally shoved the food in his mouth.

"Italy, swallow the riceball already." the girl ordered.

The Italian gulped nervously, then widened his eyes as he felt his strength return to him. "...I can't believe it.. I feel better. Grazie."

As the girl was about to reply, she saw the monster charging at them from the corner of her eye. "W-Watch out, Italy!"

"That was close. Are you all alright?" Japan asked after pulling the two away from the monster's path.

"Yes, thanks." they gave a sigh of relief.

Germany placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I think it's time for you to stand back now, (Name). Thanks for your help."

She nodded and spoke, "I'll monitor from afar."

After a few more attacks, the monster seemed to slowly break down until it lost all its energy. Finally, it stopped attacking and took a few steps back.

* * *

_Japan's Party was victorious!_

_2 EXP were received!_

_100HETA were obtained!_

_Onigiri was found!_  
_Hot Pepper was found!_

* * *

_"(Yes! It recoiled a little!)"_ Japan thought.

Prussia turned to them. "Let's just get out of here! We can't physically defeat it!"

"Let's warn the others about this..and quick!" (Name) exclaimed.

"Italy? You look pale. Are you all right?" Germany asked his friend.

Italy scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "Eheheh. I'm fine. C'mon, let's go back."

Japan took a deep breath and mentally cheered in relief _"(Thank God! I can't feel completely relieved, but this is still something!)" _

They all ran back to warn the others.

The first person they ran into was the tall Russian.

"Oh, you're back. What's the matter?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"We can't use that exit! It's been burnt out! We have to run now!" Japan told him.

Russia nodded. "I see. Good thing you found me. Let's hurry. The others should be back soon now."

"Oh, so we can't use it any more? Too bad. Let's just get away now." France said as they met up with him in the next room.

When they found China in the room after that, they informed him, "It won't open. Let's find some other door!"

China raised his eyebrow. "Really?! Let's hurry!"

"I-I see. That's too bad. Anyway, let's and England are in that room over there." Canada said, pointing to the door ahead of them.

"You can't be serious! Just when we thought we were finally going to get out..." England said sullenly.

"Lock the door!" (Name) told Japan, who was the last one to enter the room.

"Oh!" Japan let out as he turned to lock the door.

"Wow. So, now we're all assembled in this tiny room." America said, crossing his arms.

_"(Thank God... thank God! Oh, dear... For a moment there, I really feared we weren't going to make it.)"_ Japan thought.

"Damn it! Even though we're all together here, our situation hasn't got any better!

Now we're locked up in here and that fucking monster is after our asses!" Germany said bitterly.

"West, don't be so pessimistic. What matters is that we're alive. Besides, with so many nations gone, maybe someone will come to rescue us." Prussia told his younger brother.

Japan suddenly felt uneasy. _"(... How odd. I... I feel as though I'm forgetting something important...)" _

(Name) started whispering something. "Ja..Japan..."

When he turned to face her, the girl suddenly falls to her knees.

"(Name)-chan?! What's..." Japan exclaimed.

"(Name)? It's...It's alright...We'll just find another way out of here. D-Don't..worry, love..." England said as he knelt down with the girl, thinking she needs some comforting.

France walked over to the two. "Oh my... These tears do not suit you, mademoiselle.. Please stop crying.."

(Name) shakes her head.

"Japan...you must..remember..." (Name) choked out the words.

Japan furrowed his eyebrows. "Remember?"

While they were tending to the young girl, the others discussed what to do next.

"-Besides, we still need to connect the time we spend here with the time in the outside world. We have to keep breaking the clocks." China suggested.

Russia nodded. "Yeah, that's the best short-cut. Except we'll need our strength somehow...

You'll probably agree with me, but... we're quite tired. Not from fighting the enemy, but running away all the time."

Germany clicked his tongue. "Maybe escaping really is impossible...

And now... we're probably going to get eaten one by one. That's what I would do, if I were the Thing!"

Japan's ears shot up as he heard Germany's words. _"(That's right..This must be what (Name)-chan is trying to refer to...Germany said that and Prussia got mad at him... and then what?)"_

"That's enough, West! We only lost one way out! There are still many other ways!" Prussia snapped at his brother.

Japan tried thinking harder. _"(What is it? What am I forgetting? Remember, remember! If I don't-)"_

"... Prussia.

I'm sorry. And thank you... for what you did earlier. This time, I intend to make it up to you for saving me. I'm sorry I was a burden." Germany said in a low voice.

_"(Regret again?)"_ Japan wondered.

Italy took a step backward and looked at his friend. "Germany. But, Germany, it's okay-"

"No.

If I can't protect my allies when I have the chance, then my training was pointless. At the very least, I shouldn't be such a burden to you." Germany cut him off. He then looked at Italy straight in the eye and continued speaking,

"I'm sorry to you, too. You've been fighting well, without running away. I really appreciate it."

"What?

... Oh, um. Thanks..." Italy said shyly.

The Italian smiled sadly. "But you know, I think we can definitely get out now. You see, this is the first time that-"

"... What's wrong, Italy?" France asked, noticing Italy's change of tone.

"... Please, if you get out, just keep running." Italy told them in a very serious voice.

Upon hearing that line, the girl's eyes shot open. She tried standing up with all her might, being assisted by Canada, who decided to let the girl lean on him for support.

"No matter what, don't look back, don't forget about me, don't blame me, don't cry, and time-" the Italian man trembled violently.

Canada noticed this and pointed out, "Er... you're shaking..."

Japan clutched his head. _"(Time...)_

_(After that line...)"_

(Name) suddenly let go of Canada's arm and called after Japan loudly.

"J-JAPAN! ...ITALY'S GONNA GET-"

Before she was even able to finish warning her friends, a large monster started appear before them, entering from the door behind Italy.

"Italy!" Japan yelled in horror.

The rest of the guys in the room started to shake in both shock and terror.

"Italy!" they shouted at the Italian man, pleading him to get away.

Tears started to flow from Italy's eyes as he spoke with a sad smile_,_

* * *

_"...It was scary, but... but..._

_...It was fun._"

* * *

Germany tried to charge after his friend,

* * *

**"Italy!"**


	19. Chapter 8 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER VIII: Two More Seconds (Part 1)-**

* * *

/Third Person PoV/

* * *

_"So, what did you want to tell me, Japan?" America asked, raising an eyebrow._

Japan crossed his arms and looked up. "You still have much strength left, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm still a lot stronger than you guys." America replied.

Japan's nonreactive eyes then met with America's curious ones.

"In that case...

_**Why don't you try being a hero?**__"_

America's face lit up with Wow, now that's an interesting idea. Tell me more!

* * *

_**England tries magic thing** /shot_

"Shit! As I thought, I can't use my power." England said in an exasperated tone.

Uncharacteristically, America was pretty silent for a while...but then spoke,

"England."

"What?"

America faced him and crossed his arms. "You can stop the Thing for two seconds if you summon up all your magic power now?"

"Sh-shut up! Don't make that sullen face like Japan and (Name) did!

You don't really believe me, do you?! You still think I'm strange?" England tried to defend himself.

America raised an eyebrow. "So? Can't you try doing better than that?"

"It might be longer if I try so hard that I'll pass out. I can't do it unless I get quite serious." He replied, looking away. "I-I can try doing it in three seconds at most."

The American let out a deep sigh of exasperation. "Haaa... Didn't you get it when you saw the dudette's face?"

"Well, I thought, 'That's harsh, haha!'..." England said, feeling a bit stung from recalling the previous event.

"England."

"WHAT?!"

America placed both his hands on other's shoulders and spoke in a low and serious voice,

"_Two seconds is long enough._

_...To save the life of one nation... you know._"

England gave a look of puzzlement and furrowed his thick eyebrows.

"Sorry, but if you pass out, I'll carry you on my shoulders and run." America said, looking straight into England's emerald orbs. A moment of silence fell between them before the American spoke up once more-his voice almost cracking,

"_So, would you be... my backup?_"

England took deep breath. "...Talk."

* * *

"So, it looks like Italy could be in danger, so America said that we have to be ready to fight right away." The tall, Russian man explained.

"Ah, that's why he said he would go up and was doing the lookahead. But we are nations, aren't we? I don't see why he'd worry about something like that..." France shrugged.

Canada shook his head. "No. As long as we're here, we should think of ourselves the same way as ordinary people. In other words, that we can... die any time."

China tried to widen his eyes _(don'tkillmeforsayingthat/shot.)_ "Are you serious?! It'd be such a bother if I died! But I can't just watch a fellow nation die and do nothing about it, either!"

Russia nodded. "It's settled, have to be ready to fight at any moment, because we don't know where it'll come from."

"Can't we use that exit?" China asked, raising his long sleeves that covered his hands.

Canada looked up and tapped his chin. "If we can, that will be our first priority. But I have the feeling that we won't be able to get out of here so by any chance we can't use it..."

France took a step forward, "...That's a sign that Italy is in danger. It's very likely that it'll come back, so shouldn't we be careful with the doors and such?"

"That's right. I'll be waiting in the closest spot. I'm really fatigued, but maybe I can shield them." Russia said, wincing a bit.

France gave a sigh and closed his eyes, "(Italy dying...You wouldn't let that happen, would you?I can't take your place, but I can still try to do something...)"

"I think I'll also wait as close as possible to them. Maybe our enemy will retreat upon looking at my beautiful face." The Frenchman joked.

China nodded. "Then I'll wait in the room after that one. If you're defeated, I'll do something!"

"Then I'll be in the one after that. It looks like America is working over some strategy, and if anything happens, I'll spread the word." Canada spoke up softly.

"Let's go back? If it's bad, they'll be back soon. With results." Russia suggested.

Canada smiled, "Yes!"

"You can count on me!" China exclaimed.

France looked away from the others, but replied, "... Oui."

* * *

The blonde haired American lurched forward just in time to get Italy out of the monster's way-earning a hit in the process.

"... Tch! That kind of hurt." America winced in pain.

Canada's eyes widened at the sight of his brother hurt. "America!"

"Wait! You'd better not move!" Russia called after him.

France went tense. "... Hmm."

By that time, (Name) managed to stand up and tucked her (hair colour) strands behind her ear. She was still a little shaky, but was stable to stand without support.

France noticed this and asked, "Oh, you are okay now?"

"Y-Yeah.", the girl replied softly.

Their attention went back to America who spoke up to the bloody grey monster, "Sorry, but Italy is my atmosphere-searching partner. You'll have to settle with eating an iron pipe!"

"America! In front of you! Dodge..." Canada warned him.

America quickly shot a glance at their British companion, "England!"

England nodded and raised his hands in front of him. "Yeah! That really bought us some time!"

Magic circles appear below the monster as England chanted his spell,

**"-Im-pe-dimenta!"**

The Thing gets paralysed, surprising and relieving everyone at the same time.

"It can't be..." Italy said under his breath.

America motioned everyone to fight, "Let's go!"

Germany rushed over to his shaking friend, "Italy! Are you all right?!"

"Get your weapons! Let's all attack together!" Prussia told them, clutching his awesome sword.

"I'm ready to go any time." China said.

England, on the other hand, was starting to stagger and panted, seeming to almost look like all his energy has been drained, "Ha~... Ha~... Haa~!"

"England! You did a great job! You can stop now!" America shouted.

England nodded and slowly closed his eyes before collapsing on the floor. "Sorry ... You take it... from here..."

With their great number, they had the advantage of getting more damage on the monster. Gunshots, sword clashing, flashes of light and other forms of attack were thrown towards the Thing. The countries were fighting with all their might, along with a girl who stood behind them, giving them food and drinks that seemed to miraculously rejuvenate them and allow them to continue fighting. It was a long and hard battle, but they were able to bring the said monster to its limits, making it cease fighting back.

* * *

_America's Party was victorious!_

_2 EXP were received!_

_100HETA were obtained!_

_Onigiri was found! Hot Pepper was found!_

* * *

The Thing went out through the door, leaving everyone else in the room.

"W-we defeated it...?" Japan said, unsure.

Prussia looked at his hands and marvelled at what they've achieved. "I-I'm so awesome..."

"As expected from a hero! ... Oh, we have to heal England." America exclaimed as he made his way to their magical companion who collapsed earlier.

He goes over to pick England up and carry him on his shoulders.

"Is he all right? I don't really know what he did, but it looked like he used a lot of energy." Germany said with a worried expression.

America smiled, "He's fine! He just needs to sleep a little and he'll wake up in no time! I just wish we could get him somewhere better to sleep..."

China sighed, "That's a more pressing matter."

"Germany. You know a place, right?" (Name) said, making the others raise an eyebrow.

Germany looked confused, but nodded. "...Yes. I'll show you the way."

"What?" Japan creased his forehead.

"I've experimented it several times, so I think it's all right. I have no idea how (Name) knows about it...but, I'll save the questions for later. Japan, remember that thick door on the second floor?" Germany asked.

"What? Oh... Yes, I remember." Japan told him.

Germany looked at his comrades looking relieved. "Let's go there. ... Finally, I'm going to be of some use, too."

"Um, listen!" Italy tried to get their attention.

"Quickly. We may have defeated it for now, but it's very likely that it'll come back again." Germany warned them.

Italy could only look down. "... Yeah."

"But... America. Thank... you..." The Italian said, looking at the American who was carrying England on his back.

"_... I think you should practise your smile a little more._ You can't say that with that face." America said with a blank face.

Prussia suddenly heard something...from his...mind..?

* * *

_((*snickering*_

_*snickering*_

_CONGRATULATIONS. _

_CONGRATULATIONS._

_YOU ARE-))_

* * *

"Shut up!" Prussia shouted, covering his ears by reflex.

Russia placed a hand on the albino's shoulder. "Whoa! What's the matter?"

Prussia snapped back from his thoughts, "Oh... S-sorry... Er, did you just hear...?"

"Did something happen?" Japan asked.

Prussia shrugged. "N-no, it's nothing. Really, I'm sorry..."

When they were all done checking on everybody's condition, they headed for the iron door located on the second floor of the mansion.

As they opened and went through the iron door, they saw a flight of stairs. When they arrived up, they opened another door, revealing darkness.

"Ouch!" Japan exclaimed.

China spoke up in annoyance, "Who's stepping on my foot?!"

"So... who's on top of me~?" Russia said playfully.

"O-Oh my god. I'm sorry. I think I am. /" (Name) said, sounding very flustered and embarrassed.

"Hey, that's my hair! So, isn't it a little narrow here? And dark?" France asked them.

"Oh, sorry. There was a switch, but... Wait just a minute. I'm sure it was... around here..." Germany said, cautiously looking for the switch on the wall.

_*click*_

Once the light was on, they gasped. It was a considerably large room with beds, tables, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was fully furnished and just what they all needed was most probably there. The rest were in awe.

Japan marveled at the room.

Russia turned to Germany, "Huh. Germany... did you...?"

"Wh-what the heck is this place?!" China exclaimed.

Germany went up front and faced everyone. "Hm. That went over better than I thought. Everyone is here.

I'm relieved that we didn't lose anybody. And I'm glad that we made it here in time."

"Awesome!

What is this place? Did you make it, West? " Prussia beamed.

"... It's amazing..." Italy let out.

France motioned at the room, "How did you do this?"

"Ugh..." England croaked out, gaining consciousness.

America gently let England off his shoulders. "Oh. Are you awake?"

England opened his eyes and adjusted it to the sudden brightness. He looked confused when he noticed the new surroundings. "Wh-where the hell am I?! Don't tell me we...got out? ... I guess not..."

"We have much to talk about. However, our first priority now is to sleep. We had better sleep first and talk later." Germany suggested.

Prussia nodded. "Yeah, if we try to talk now, I won't get anything..."

China placed a hand over his stomach. "I'm hungry, too, but... I want to sleep first. Let's just do some basic healing and then sleep."

"America, didn't you get hurt when you thrust the iron pipe? Give me your arm; I'll take care of it. Is there a first-aid kit here or anything of the sort?  
" Canada asked whilst holding up his brother's arm.

(Name) dug through her bag and replied, "Ah. Wait, I have a small med kit here in my bag."

"Oh, but there's also one in the shelf at the back. Feel free to use it if you run out of anything. Those who don't have any problems, sleep. There is no need to keep watch. I've already experimented it countless times." Germany assured them.

Italy perked up and spoke in a cheerful tone, "Japan~ Sleep next to me! You, too, Germany! I'll sleep in the middle!"

Japan gave a light smile. "Yes, of course. It's been so long since I lay down a little."

"Hm, then I guess I'll sleep next to West." Prussia said, placing his arms over his younger brother's shoulder.

"I'm so tired, too... I'll go ahead. Oh, but..would you like to sleep next to me, belle fille~?" France winked at (Name).

(Name) shifted uncomfortably and shook her head. "E-Er..no thank you... I'll sleep by myself haha."

China yawned. "I'll go to sleep, too. My back hurts..."

* * *

/Japan's PoV/

* * *

While the others slept, I decided to converse with those who were still up. I made my way towards the tall, Russian man who seemed to be smiling cheerfully at the sight of the others resting.

"Amazing~ It should be interesting to have all of us sleep together." Russia said.

Japan agreed. "Yes, though the circumstances are unfortunate."

"When we get back home, do you want to do this again? I'm sure it'll be noisy, and warm, and fun!" Russia suggested, readjusting his scarf and chuckling.

"Huhu. Indeed. I look forward to it." Japan nodded and walked over to the quiet Canadian...who was petting his pet polar bear?

Huh. Come to think of it, the bear was actually with us all along. I guess it doesn't get noticed that much as well...given its owner is the same.

"This place is above the ceiling of the second floor. He found a really good spot." Canada said, giving Germany a short glance.

Japan simply nodded. "Yes, even our enemy wouldn't guess where we are."

"Indeed. I'm so relieved. Germany is quite amazing." Canada smiled and brushed his bear's fur, feeling his stress dissipating as he held his fluffy polar bear.

_"(His face is glowing; he probably doesn't even realise it.)"_ Japan thought, bumping into his buff, blonde haired ally.

"What's the matter? If you want to sleep, just go to your own bed." Germany told him.

"I... feel rather unreliable all of a sudden. Did you do all this on your own?" Japan inquired.

Germany shrugged. "Well... When I first came here, it was almost completed, so... maybe it is more correct to say that someone else made it."

Japan looked around the room once more and spoke, "This room alone... It must have taken months, years."

"Maybe... yeah.

Oh, I just remembered. The room in the back has bathrooms and bathtubs. I tried making them in Japanese style." Germany informed him.

Japan smiled. "Ah, that makes me very happy. I'll go and take a bath later"

"Yes, that will help with the fatigue."

Japan spotted his other ally busying himself at the kitchen. He headed over there and asked the Italian man, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'm making something for us to eat tomorrow when we wake up. It can't be pasta~ but you'll still like it." Italy said gleefully.

"Is that so? I look forward to it, then. I'll also give you a hand later."

Italy shook his head. "No, I'm fine on my own! There isn't that much food."

Japan nodded and decided to go to the bathroom. There were about four bathtubs there. He was about to walk over to one when he heard a loud American walk out of a cubicle.

"Phew! I was drenched in sweat!" America said, feeling refreshed. He got water all over the floor.

"_The tatami..._

Oh, by the way... thank you for what you did for Italy..

Since I broke a clock without consulting anyone else, I became so preoccupied with another matter that I completely forgot about that." Japan said

America laughed enthusiastically and gave a thumbs up. "I'm up to anything if I can be a hero! No need to thank me!"

Japan nodded. "Certainly, you were both heroes back even told England and all the others."

"Hm? Oh, yeah. When we took refuge in that room, England hadn't said anything, had he?

He said he was going to do some kind of spell or something, and if by any chance there wasn't enough time, I'd have to buy him time.

And there really wasn't enough time, so I attacked with this iron pipe I'd picked up earlier, and when the spell was done, it succeeded in slowing down our enemy." America explained.

"That's why you both stood waiting in the back." Japan realised, then continued,

"Everyone else also acted quickly. Telling them beforehand turned out to be the key. Thank you."

America looked away. "It's because... I don't want to lose any of my friends. Ah...the dudette knows something, right?"

"Hai... She already confided in Prussia and I... It's quite a long story, she said. It is complicated to tell, too. What happened was just too much for the girl. She will explain that to us once she's rested."

America faced Japan. "Hmm.. I see. She's been a great help. I'm excited to find out what she knows! But...you know, it looks like Italy is hiding something, too."

"Indeed. Everyone has noticed it by now. Though, I hope he will tell us tomorrow, as well.."

"I wonder if he really will. He has that determined face. As if he thinks that ordinary methods won't work."

Japan nodded and spoke in a remorseful tone. "Yes, it is just as you say. I can't help but think that he looks like someone who has been standing all alone in a far away place for a very long time."

"Then we have to run over there and catch him." America said as he gave Japan's shoulder a hearty pat.

"Huhu. Definitely. We should all catch him together."

* * *

~~Japan then decides to sleep~~ /fireplace room/

* * *

_"Prussia! What happened to Japan?!" Italy asked frantically._

_"...He fell asleep. Very... deeply.", the albino replied, trying not to show the anguish in his voice._

_Germany fell silent. China was able to croak out, "... No..."_

_Russia looked down. "So... now we're the only ones left."_

_Italy's eyes welled up. "Japan is-"_

_England slammed his fist on the table. "Shit! We failed again! What are we going to do?! We've got the key. Now-"_

_Germany cut him off, "When we've lost so many? I can't."_

_"Yeah, there is no point." Russia agreed._

_"Yeah, I agree. Let's leave this key to our next selves." England said._

_"... I'm sorry." Italy blurted out._

_Germany turned to his Italian friend. "Hm? What's wrong?"_

_"Italy, you didn't do anything-" Prussia told him._

_Italy faced them, tears streaming across his cheeks. "I'm sorry. It was me... It's my fault. Because... because I-"_

* * *

Italy suddenly woke up, panting from the terror and despair he felt from his dream.

"A dream.

_(I guess it wasn't quite a dream. I hate this...Even here, it's affecting me.)_

(_It's because I remember so many things...Maybe it's a backlash? I'm beginning to forget the memories from long ago.)_

_(When did I first meet Germany? What was the alliance that bound us? When I was little, I made some kind of promise to someone,didn't I?)_

_(Maybe I'll be able to remember if I can get out of here?)_

_(Everyone is... breathing, right?)_

_(Yeah, Japan is even moving. Thank God.)_

_(I didn't know this place existed, and I really didn't think that I'd still be alive...)_

_(Another thing would be_

_(Name).I... This...This is the first time she appeared...She knows something...but I don't know how that happened. Oh..but she's been helping quite a lot...so...it's good, I guess...)_

_(If I've come this far, the next thing to do is...)"_


	20. Chapter 8 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER VIII: Two More Seconds (Part 2)-**

* * *

"Well. Everyone has rested, so can we begin our conference now?" Germany inquired, seeing to it that everyone was present at the table.

"Sure. I'm full and I don't feel tired any more, so be my guest~" Russia answered.

China gave Italy a pat on the back. "Italy's food is really good. He's been working so hard; I'm impressed."

Italy scratched the back of his head at the compliment. "Hehe! Thanks."

"Well? Who's going to speak first?" France asked.

Germany tried to think. "Well..."

Canada spoke up in a louder voice than usual and turned to his brother. "America, this all started with a single word from you, but you have nothing to do with the Thing, do you?

Is it safe to assume that it's just a coincidence that it looks like Tony? That's all I want you to confirm."

"Hm? You think they look alike? I don't think so, though... Anyway, I definitely have nothing to do with it." America told him.

"Yeah? Then, if we are to believe you, we're in even bigger trouble." Prussia crossed his arms.

America furrowed his brows and asked, "...You don't blame me?"

"Hmm?" Japan tilted his head.

"It's pretty much my fault that you got dragged into this. If I hadn't bugged you about it, none of this would have happened." America told them with a tinge of guilt building up as he spoke,

"...I thought you'd blame me more. I'm rather disappointed. But it's okay for you to get mad at me now."

"America..." Japan managed to say.

"Haaah... Is that really what you think?" China asked in disbelief.

England raised a fist towards America. "You really have hamburgers for brains. Stop spouting nonsense."

America's blue eyes widened behind his glasses.

Canada gave a sigh and turned to him. "Well, sure, this may have started with a word from you... but we're the ones who went along with it, eh?"

France agreed. "Yes, yes. We could have chosen not to come, but we chose to come with you."

"You're the one who laid out the rails, but we're the ones who chose to walk on it. It's not your fault." Russia assured him.

The usually loud American quieted down for a moment and gave a warm, thankful look...while looking at a certain Italian at the corner of his eye. "I see. Thank you. If you say so, I..."

Italy was just silent.

"That's why we need to work together. By joining forces like never before, we'll make it through." Germany told them.

"...Hey!" Italy blurted with a serious expression that got their attention.

Germany faced him. "What?"

The Italian man suddenly became nervous, but spoke, "Um, well.

Can you listen to me? There is... something I want to tell you."

"S-sure, go ahead..." Japan motioned him to speak.

"Then, can you all come with me to the basement? If we're not there, I can't talk." Italy told them.

Prussia gave a puzzled look. "The basement? Can't you just talk here?"

"It's really important, so... please. I feel I'll only be able to talk if we're there." Italy pleaded.

(Name) was about to speak up about something that the Italian said, but decided against it. Instead, she waited for them to continue their discussion.

Germany gave in, "Hmph. I see. Then let's all head down there. But before that, I also have somewhere I want to go."

"Where?" England asked.

"The cave with the burnt ropes. I saw something lying on the ground, but I couldn't pick it up at the time."

Japan nodded. "All right. Let's all go together, then."

Italy gave a smile. "Yeah! ... Thank you."

They headed for the tunnel in the basement with rope ladder.

"What's the matter, Germany?"

Germany shrugged. "Nothing... I mean, well...I just wanted to remove the obstacle that made me fall over yesterday."

Japan nodded. "I see. That's a good idea. Someone could trip over it and get hurt."

"Yes, exactly... but... it's odd.I can't find a single vine or stone." Germany told them while crouching down and searching the floor for anything.

Prussia cringed. "Whaat?!What the hell, it's like a horror movie! Stop saying those things!"

"Well, it's dark here. Did you look properly?" Russia asked.

"I'm sure it was right here. But there's nothing. No obstacle.

There is no stone, no vine, nothing. One could even think there was never anything to begin with." Germany reassured them.

Italy looked down and thought to himself, "_(... That's right.)_

_(Even if we try to find it where Germany didn't fall, we'll never find anything. But when he fell, there was something entwined around his foot that wouldn't let him move.)_

_(It's as if-)"_

France gulped and started to shiver a bit. "Euh, it's like someone tripped you and wouldn't let you move."

Germany stood up and looked uneasy. "A-actually... I only assumed it was a vine, but now that I think about it... well...

_It felt_

_...like someone had grabbed my ankle..._"

America shrieked, "Eeeek! Stop, stop! Let's stop talking about this! There's nothing here! Can't we just leave it at that?!"

Russia tapped his chin and spoke in a playful manner. "Grabbed... It's like... a hand sprang up from the earth and grabbed your ankle~"

"And tried to drag you into the earth..." France added.

Germany shivered at the thought. "Aaaargh! S-stop! It could have been just my imagination! Anyway! There's nothing out of the ordinary here! Let's leave it at that!"

Japan nodded. "I-indeed! Now, let's go to the place where Italy will talk to us..."

"Hm? Oh, sorry! Um, the cell where Prussia and the others had got in. That's where I want us to go." Italy told them.

"Understood. Now, let's just forget about this incident and go to the other room." Japan said, motioning the others towards the door.

Germany agreed. "Right..."

The countries left one by one, leaving Italy and Germany at the tunnel.

"What have you been looking for?" Germany asked his friend who seemed to be searching for something.

"Huh?! N-nothing..." Italy stuttered.

Something on the floor suddenly caught Germany's eye. He decided to pick it up. Hm? What's this?

* * *

_**Found "Piece of Metal".**_

* * *

"Oh!" Italy covered his mouth.

"Ah, so this is what I saw. It might be useful, so I'll take it with me." Germany said, placing the metal object in his pocket.

Italy started walking and mumbled, "Right..."

* * *

/Reader's PoV!~/

* * *

While we were on our way back to the room where Italy wanted to talk, my head was starting to hurt. I slowed my pace and let the others walk ahead of me. My vision started blurring again...

What's going on...?

Up ahead, I saw the others entering the room with the iron cell.

Oh...I remember...Italy's...going to trap them inside, right?

...Should I...stop them...?

...Yes...

I should...

Clutching my head, I started walking over to where the others were.

But then, I heard someone...

...chuckling behind me.

* * *

**_"Ehehe~... Where do you think you're going, ragazza?~"_**

* * *

I stopped dead in my tracks.

No.

No.

No.

I told them to leave me alone.

Ever so slowly, I turned around to face...him...

"...Wh...Why are you here...? I already told you guys that I'm not going to help you."

The man in front of me wore a tan military uniform, he had auburn hair and piercing magenta eyes...what made me shiver in terror, though...

...was the throwing knife he was swinging in front of him playfully.

He only smirked at me as he met my gaze.

Trying to feel brave, I clicked my tongue and turned away from him.

"I don't care what you guys are playing, but I have my own game to take care of. I am going to get out of here-with them, without any help from you guys. Now, leave us alone...because I already told you... I'm not going to help you."

I was about to start walking once more, when I felt someone dash up to me from behind and wrap their arms around me...a cold blade placed on my cheek.

My breathing suddenly became heavy at the impending harm the Italian man could bring me. I took a deep breath before bravely speaking up,

"Let me go, Italy."

"Heheh. Ragazza, do you really want to go through this, again? That cupcake-loving idiota told me about our 'own names' as as you say, 'Second Players'..."

"...L-Let me go..._Luciano_."

"Oooh. Luciano, hmm? It's got a nice ring to it."

"Yeah yeah...now...let me go already!"

"Well well, ragazza. England may have been all nice to you and let you off just like that before..."

He lifted my chin to my side and made me face him.

* * *

_"But I'm not nice like him."_

* * *

"N-No...Just-Just leave me alone...leave us alone...I don't want them to get hurt. I don't want you to kill them. So please..."

"Look at you, looking out for your dear _'Hetalia characters'_..."

"H-How much..do you guys kn-know?"

"We know just enough. We also..._have_ just enough."

"...'have'..?"

"Si~ We have just enough to get you to join us! Don't worry, we'll welcome you with open arms."

"I don't get what you're trying to say...but I know I'll never join you guys ever-"

"Are you sure about that? Huh. I can't believe what a horrible person you are."

"W-What?! _I'm_ the horrible person?! You guys are th-"

"Oh sure. Go ahead. Make sure your new friends are safe and sound. I'm sure _(Father's Name)_ and _(Mother's Name)_ won't mind getting a few cuts in their throats or whatnot~"

My eyes widened in horror.

"No...No...you're... kidding..."

"Am I, (Name)?"

I clenched my fists until I felt like my knuckles all turned white.

* * *

_I'm sorry._

* * *

"...Alright...you win...what do you guys need from me...?"

"Well finally!~ We'll talk about that later. For now, let me tell you how irritated I am at you for being so stubborn. If you would've just agreed immediately, we could've gotten along sooner, ragazza."

_"It's because you guys play dirty."_

"Hmm? I don't like your tone. Why don't I teach you lesson number one?"

"Wha-"

* * *

**_Suddenly, I felt a sharp blade pierce my skin._**


	21. Chapter 8 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER VIII: Two More Seconds (Part 3)-**

* * *

**/Reader's PoV!/**

_Darkness._

_Where...am I...?_

As I regained consciousness, I tried opening my eyes, but failed to do so. Am...am I blindfolded?

I tried moving, as well...but it looks like my arms and legs are tied together to...something... a chair...?

As I was recollecting my memories on what happened, I heard unfamiliar voices around me.

"So when the fuck are we going to get rid of them? My bat's aching to break their bones-especially that disgusting, hamburger retard's."

"Hush! Allen, I told you to watch your language! What if the poppet wakes up and hears you?"

"Tch. The dollface is out cold because a certain *someone* had to make her faint by trying to slice her cheek!"

"Shut up! She had to learn her lesson. You have no idea how irritating the ragazza was being."

"But what if the girl's scared of you now? How will you get her to go along with us, eh?"

"Heh. Don't worry I told her-"

"Hmm? You're awake now, da?"

I suddenly tensed up as I felt someone beside me to take off my blindfold.

It took me a while for my eyes to adjust to the light. When I did, I was met by crimson eyes. It was from a large man with grayish-brown hair, wearing an overcoat with a red trim...and what was noticeable about him was his red scarf.

I internally shivered upon realising...this must be...2P! Russia.

A few moments later, a strawberry-blonde haired man with sky blue eyes walked up to me and cheerfully spoke, "Good morning, poppet~ Nice to see you awake now! I missed you~"

"...Oliver..? ... Where...am I?" I asked softly, still trying to process what was happening.

"You're with us, dollface." a tan, redhaired man told me. He was wearing sunglasses, a bomber jacket, and a smirk whilst swinging his nail-covered bat at his side. 2P! America...

Suddenly, hands were placed on my shoulders. "Hmm... how long were you awake,ragazza?" It was that damn Italian Second Player. Now I remember! It was him. He was the last person I was with before losing consciousness. He must've brought me here.

"Just a few moments." I answered him.

He went to my right and faced me with a raised eyebrow. "I see. That's good~ Ah. Sorry about your cheek, by the way."

My eyes widened when I realised what he said. I remember he...pressed his switchblade on my cheek, giving it a little cut... It wasn't that painful, but of course, the shock of being harmed was enough for me to faint.

I wanted to move my hand to feel the cut on my cheek, but both of my hands were still tied to the armrest.

"...Untie me... It's not like it's possible for me to run away from you guys." I told them

in a hopeless tone.

"Will do, poppet~" Oliver said, untying the ropes on wrists and ankles.

Once I was free, I massaged my wrists and tried standing up. Tried.

I was probably tied to that chair for quite a while, so my legs were still a bit numb. Luckily, I was caught by someone. "Mhmm. Careful." the person who caught me said, squeezing my butt. I was surprised at this and turned around to face the pervert and spoke, "Hey! What the heck!"

The man only chuckled. He was tall and burly, blonde with pinkish purple eyes...and a scar beneath his left eye that extends across his cheek. He also reeks of smoke. 2P! Germany.

As I regained my balance, I took a look around the room I was in. It looks like any normal room in the mansion...except this is a room that I haven't been in before-nor have I seen in the game. While scanning the room, I also noticed that there were also other Second Players around. 2P! Japan, 2P! France, 2P! Canada, 2P!China, 2P! Prussia...and 2P! Spain and 2P! Romano? Hold on... it's the 2P! Version of everyone in the original game...

Then, a question came to mind.

"Wait...where are my parents, Luciano?" I turned to face 2P! Italy.

He smirked and spoke, "Heheh. They're somewhere in the mansion, ragazza~ Don't worry, after you help us out...we'll get you and your parents out of here."

"Can't...I see them or talk to them?"

"No. We need you to cooperate before anything." he told me.

I winced at the thought. "Are...you guys...serious...?"

At that moment, I remembered my first encounter with a 2P! inside the mansion.

* * *

_"Please...let me go...England."_

_He let me go and made me face him. I looked down. I didn't want to confirm my fears._

_"I've watched you, poppet. I've also learned that in your world, I have a name of my own. A name I do not share with that grumpy man~" He told me cheerfully._

_"...O-Ol.." I said under my breath._

_"Come on now, poppet. Look at me and say it." _

_He then cupped my chin and made me look at him in the eyes._

_I saw two blue orbs that had swirls of pink._

_He smiled at me like a cheshire cat. I took a deep breath and spoke weakly, _

_"Oliver."_

_"Ooh~ That's a nice name, poppet! I love it!"_

_I took a deep breath and asked him, "What...do you want...?"_

_"Actually, poppet... you're not really part of our original plan, so you're getting in the way. But...now that we know what you can do-you're a big part of our plan!~"_

_"Huh? What do you mean by that..?"_

_Oliver tapped his chin. "It's a long story...but simply put," he gave me a smile that screamed 'insane' all over it and continued, "we want them d-e-a-d. DEAD. But it's not working! They just keep going over and over and over and over and over and over-"_

_"-Oliver." _

_He stopped for a while and regained a little bit of sanity. "Sorry about that, poppet..._

_...what I mean is, they just keep going back in time to escape this mansion-after all the effort we put in getting rid of them! Then...you came along."_

_I took a step back at what he said. "And what do I have to do with this?"_

_He giggled. "Silly poppet~ We were the ones who got you here in the first place. After doing research, we figured we needed someone from a different dimension to help us out...and that just so happened to be-YOU!~" he said, pointing at me._

_"How-How is that even possible?!" I demanded to know._

_"Well, I do have magical powers~ While we were here in the mansion, I decided to open a portal to a dimension where we'll get information on how to permanently get rid of those...other us... and you were that person who had the information. We've watched you, poppet."_

_It was too much to process, but it was somehow slowly making sense..._

_"S-So...you mean the...cupcake that I ate was..."_

_"Oh! That was from me! I'm glad that you loved it~"_

_"What...was in it?"_

_"Don't worry, there wasn't anything dangerous. Just...a spell or two."_

_I creased my forehead, "...a spell?"_

_"Well, I placed two spells on it. One was for you to fall asleep after a few hours, and the other was to have you only give information to us. If you even tried thinking of giving information to people other than us, you'd feel faint. ...But it looks like the latter spell was already wearing off."_

_So that explains it. The feeling of weakness and numbness. The blurring of my vision...it was...because of the cupcake?..._

_"It was...all you guys..." I managed to mutter._

_"Yes~ You know, we were about to fetch you when you fell asleep...but you were the one who got inside the mansion yourself! Bravo, poppet! We actually don't know how you got here without a portal, but it was delightfully convenient~"_

_I shook my head. "No...it's...this is all a mistake." _

_"It's not a mistake, poppet. It was almost all according to plan."_

_"Almost?"_

_"Yes. What we didn't anticipate was," he gave an annoyed look but didn't look at you in the eyes, "was that you'd be found by those...'First Players'..."_

_We were both silent for a while, until he spoke up._

_"You're coming with us, poppet."_

_A look of both confusion and shock was shown in my face. "Wh-Why would I?"_

_His eyes suddenly swirled pink. "...In the first place...you were supposed to be ours."_

_"N-No I wasn't!"_

_"Don't worry, poppet! After we kill those people-we'll get you out of here safely, how does that sound?~"_

_I cannot believe what I was hearing. Do they honestly think that I'd allow them to do such thing?! Japan...Italy...England...Prussia...and all the others...they've been so kind to me. They protected me. And they're all...suffering...because of this sick mansion-which all happened to be a twisted game by these Second Players! No._

_I will help my friends. My 1P! friends... Yes... they're my friends now...right?_

_I will help them get out of this mansion. All of us will get out of this mansion. I don't...need to side with those 2Ps... I won't allow them to put more suffering to such good people. They're...they're my favourite anime characters. Hetalia has been an important part of my life. I may not be that pretty, or smart, or talented, or strong...but Hetalia is one of those things in life that make me smile. It means that much to me. I don't know what I can do for them yet, but I'll do all that I can possibly do to get us all out of this mansion. _

_After a long silence, I spoke. "No."_

_"No?"_

_"No, Oliver. I won't play your twisted game. I won't allow you guys to kill them. I will get us all out of this mansion-without your help."_

_He clicked his tongue. "My my, poppet. Do you know what you're saying? Ah. Maybe you're just a bit famished! Here, have a cupca-" he said as he tried to shove a cupcake in my mouth._

_I swatted his arm, making him drop the cupcake. "I don't want that, Oliver. Please, just leave us alone."_

_Oliver gave me a stoic look and spoke monotonously,_

**_"If you won't help us...we'll kill you too."_**

_I took another step back. Kill me?... They'll...kill me... I know they can but..._

_Fear and terror was all I felt at the moment. I was just speechless so I looked down to my feet._

_It crossed my mind just now._

_What if...I did die here?_

_What then?_

_...How could I have been so stupid? I could've just sped things up and helped them get out of here while there was still the chance. _

_Ah...but the 2Ps will probably do something about it if I did, right?_

_I'm sorry...what should I do...?_

_Help...the 2Ps...?_

_No... I can't..._

_Help the 1Ps..?_

_Of course...there's still hope for them to get out of here with me, right?_

_...Die trying..?_

_..._

**_I'm sorry._**

_"Poppet, let's go." Oliver said as he placed a hand on my shoulder._

_I was torn on what to do and just closed my eyes shut, "N-No...I don't..." _

_Suddenly, the door behind me was flung open as another man with a British accent shouted, "(Name)!" _

_It was England. _

_When I opened my eyes to look at Oliver...he already disappeared. _

* * *

I took a deep breath and looked at all the Second Players.

"Why...Why do you guys need to kill them, anyway?" I asked.

Allen took a step forward, "Doll, they're not the only ones who suffered a shitty time here. We had a fucked up life, too, because of them. It's only fair to return the favour."

* * *

Meanwhile...

* * *

**/Third Person PoV!/**

* * *

"Before I say anything, I have a favour to ask of you. You see, there's a box inside the cell,isn't there?" Italy asked, pointing at the wooden box on the other side.

China nodded. "Yeah. That one, right? What about it?"

Italy gave a small smile. "Can you open it for me? I can't open it, and I want to see what's inside."

"Then I, the hero, will open it!" America announced, walking inside the cell.

China and France followed him, curious about the box, as well.

Prussia walked inside and asked, "What's in that box?"

"Errr... Hope?" Italy answered nervously.

Canada furrowed his brows. He went over to the others to check.

"Huh?! What the hell?! It won't open at all!" America exclaimed.

England rolled his eyes and walked over to America. "You're pathetic. Give me that."

"Maybe it's locked?" Russia suggested, following England.

"Let me try." Germany said.

Before Germany could go inside the cell, Italy grabbed his sleeve. "Germany."

"What is it?" the burly man asked.

While the two were conversing, Japan went inside the cell.

"You just found something, didn't you? Maybe it's some kind of clue. Can I take a look?" Italy asked him.

Germany took the metal object out of his pocket and showed it to the Italian. "You mean this? I don't think it's much, but...oh, well...", he said as he handed it over to him.

**Handed Piece of Metal to Italy.**

"...nks." Italy muttered.

Germany tilted his head, "Hmm?"

Suddenly, Italy pushed Germany back into the cell with all his strength.

With that, he locked the rest of the nations up inside the iron cell, surprising everyone.

"Hey, America, why don't you say it?" Italy faced the blonde haired American on the other side.

"... Italy!" America called after him.

Italy looked at him dead in the eye and spoke bitterly, "Say it. In front of everyone. Who lured them here?"

"What are you talking about?!" China asked, confused of what's happening.

Russia spoke, "America?"

"By the way, there's nothing in that box. It's just an empty box. Sorry." Italy apologised.

Canada shook his head. "It can't be...What's the meaning of this?!"

"Hey, America, what's going on here? What are you hiding?!" England demanded.

"...Huh? Aren't you going to say it? Why not? Read the atmosphere for once!" Italy told him with a disappointed look on his face.

"Italy!

Open this door!" Germany ordered.

Italy pouted. "Aww, but if I open it, you'll get mad at me. Then again, you already are."

Germany clicked his tongue. "Son of a-"

Prussia tried to hold back his younger brother, then turned to the man on the other side of the cell, "Italy..."

Italy raised his eyebrow at America and spoke, "Aren't you going to say it? Fine, then.

You see, I'm the one who told him the rumours about this place."

France shot a look at Italy, "What?"

"I'm the one who told America. About this place. And then America immediately went to ask everyone to come check it out~" Italy explained in a sarcastically playful tone.

America looked down in silence.

Japan was slowly understanding. "Th-then..."

Italy nodded. "Right. It wasn't America who started it. Because I told him. That's why you're all here now."

Prussia couldn't believe this. "You told him? You're kidding, right? Why?"

Italy gave a bitter smile. "No reason in particular. I just happened to hear the rumours about this place, too, and then I told America~"

"Why did you lock us up here?" France asked.

"Hmm... Because you would get in the way? You'd gang up on me and ruin all my plans. So, just stay there for a while, okay?" Italy told them.

England was enraged. "You're fucking kidding me! I'll just-", he stopped as he tried to cast a spell, but failed. "Shit! Because time's stopped, my magic-"

"Ah, that's right. Thank you~ You were really helpful!" Italy thanked England.

The Italian then started to walk towards the door. "Well, I'll be going now. Thank you for finding this for me, Germany~", he said, holding up the metal object.

He then turned to the American before he left, "You, too, America; thanks for everything!"

"...You really should have learnt how to smile a little more naturally." America told him with a sullen look on his face.

This caused Italy to stop.

America took a step forward, held the bars in front of him and spoke, "Did you forget what we said yesterday? Theone who laid out the rails... yeah, it was you.

But I chose to run on them. I could have chosen not to, but I chose to get on those rails.

No one thinks it's your fault."

Italy fell into silence.

"Italy! Please, open it! You don't have to do this alone! We can all-all together-get out of here?!" Japan tried to convince him.

"...No. We can't.", he answered.

Germany shook the bars in front of him. "Italy!"

"I'll tell you one more thing.

The Thing is after me. That's why no matter how many of us are gathered together, it will target me and attack me first.

That's why I tried to keep close to the doors as much as possible, though it was a little pointless." Italy explained.

_"(Indeed, he would sometimes step a little away from us...)"_ Japan thought.

"This ends here. I'll make this the last time.

... If I come back, give me a good scolding." Italy told them.

Germany was now outraged. **"ITALY! ITALY! OPEN THIS DOOR! ITALY!"**

"Italy!" Japan tried to call after him, as well, but it was useless. He was already gone.

* * *

**/Reader's PoV!/**

* * *

_"Why...Why do you guys need to kill them, anyway?" I asked._

_Allen took a step forward, "Doll, they're not the only ones who suffered a shitty time here. We had a fucked up life, too, because of them. It's only fair to return the favour."_

2P! China...or Wang, blew smoke from his pipe and spoke, "He's right. They're the ones that banished us. Time for us to banish them."

"Banish them permanently from this world, honey~" A peppy Italian said. This must be Flavio, or 2P! Romano.

I was confused and had no idea what they were talking about. "Banished? I don't understand..."

"Hnh. There are a lot of things you wouldn't understand. You may know a few things about us, but that's just it. You don't know everything. In my opinion, it looks like you don't even know how to actually get yourselves out of this mansion. Just accept defeat,already." Kuro told me while he was polishing his katana.

Oliver clapped his hands together. "Well! Why don't we save that for later and just get this show on the road now?~"

I fidgeted in my place. "I...I can't help you guys kill them. I won't do it."

Luciano looked at me and spoke, "You've got it wrong, ragazza. You won't be the one killing them. Leave that to us and our friends. For now, just getting you away from them is enough. We can't risk you giving them stuff that'll give them back their strength or ability to fight again. We'll think about strategy later. Right now..."

"We'll leave it to my ol' buddy to take care of the useless and troublesome version of Italy, here." Allen said, his thumb pointing at Luciano.

I tilted my head in puzzlement. "...your _'buddy'_..?"

Allen gave a laugh, the others joining him.

"Yeah, doll. My buddy."

"...Who's..that..?"

**_"...Steve."_**


	22. Chapter 9 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER IX: Phone Calls (Part 1)-**

* * *

**/Third Person PoV/**

* * *

Italy slowed his pace a bit and sighed, "They got really mad at me. Germany's face was so scary... straight out of a nightmare."

As he looked down on the floor, he noticed something and crouched down to inspect it.

"...Is this...blood? This place was free from blood a while ago... I swear there wasn't a monster here at this point in time..." Italy thought out loud.

He then spots something beside the drops of blood on the floor- a small metal key chain that spelled, "Hetalia" in green, white and red. It seemed familiar to him.

Where has he seen this item before?

After thinking deeply, he snapped his fingers. "Ah! This is from the bella ragazza with us! She's with Germany and the others, right? Or...hold on-I don't think I noticed her go inside..? What? No... Sh-She's in the cell, too, righ-"

A sudden ringing of a phone was heard, surprising the Italian.

"Eeeeeeek! Germanyyy! Japaaaaan!" he shrieked.

He snapped out of it and looked around him. "Oh, right, they're not here..."

"My phone...? Scary... Who is it? And how can they call me, anyway?" he muttered whilst taking his phone out of his pocket.

Italy's eyes opened wide when he saw the name of the caller, "What?!"

"Um! Roma-", he said upon answering.

"You IDIOT! What took you so fucking long to answer, goddammit?!" someone on the other line angrily shouted with a thick Italian accent.

"What?! What? It's true?! It's really you?! How? You are Romano, aren't you?!" Italy asked frantically.

"Of course it's me! Ack, wait-Spain! You can't take my phone! Give it back!" Romano shouted.

Italy gave a look of disbelief. "Spain, too?! It can't be true... Why?"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Now listen, Veneziano?

...? Are you crying?" the Southern Italian asked as he heard sniffling on the other line.

Italy shook his head. "No, I-I'm just so happy. Hey, Romano, can you fill in for me at work tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and forever and ever... Can you?" Italy asked, his voice cracking.

"...No." his brother answered.

"Romano?"

Romano huffed. "It's your job. Just get your ass back here and fucking take care of it yourself!"

"An... real... idiot... well...ly..." the other line started getting choppy.

"Romano? I can't hear you! Hello?! It got cut off..." Italy realised.

He then placed his phone back in his pockets and gave a small smile. "Hehe! Their voices. It's been so long!"

"... I wish I could go home." he said softly in a sad tone.

"Tsk! It got fucking cut off. Oh, well. At least I got to call him."

* * *

**-*-*-*-Outside the Mansion-*-*-*-**

* * *

"God, my brother is such a pain in the ass...And Spain and the others are taking their sweet time getting here. Why aren't they back already?!" Romano ranted as he stood in front of the abandoned mansion.

"...Veneziano...

I'm coming."

* * *

**/Reader's PoV!/**

* * *

Everything felt like a standstill when they told me that tiny bit of information.

"You mean...the...monster's actually..." my heart pounded upon my realisation.

The monster's actually working for the 2Ps? It...can't be...

Allen lowered his sunglasses and looked at me in the eyes, "Believe it, doll."

"B-But... how come there are tons of them roaming around the mansion?" I asked them.

Oliver placed a hand on my shoulder, "A little cloning spell wouldn't hurt, poppet~"

So it was them...all along?

"Hey! Before I forget, are you prepared to buff up my buddy, Steve, old man?" Allen

asked.

Oliver's head shot up, "Oh butterscotch! I overlooked that... Hmm~ Don't worry, I'll prepare the spell in a jiffy~" At that, the strawberry-blonde haired man walked

over to the other side of the room, near a fireplace.

That means...the steroid-taking looking Steve will be Oliver's doing? Given that Oliver forgot to prepare the spell...for now, it looks like it will take them a while before they take action against the 1Ps again.

Once I snapped out of my daze, I realised I was surrounded by the other 2Ps.

We were quite silent for a while, until someone spoke up.

_"So...can I fuck her?"_ 2P! France asked.

That made me jump from my seat and hide behind a chair as I shouted at the grungy looking Frenchman, "Whoa whoa whoa! What the heck?! No. No. **NO.** Not cool, Francois!"

"No need to be scared, honey~ We won't harm you in any way. It's those 'First Players' that we're after!" The fabulously dressed, blonde-haired, 2P! Romano reassured me. I breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

A man with long, dark hair tied in a low ponytail with a purple ribbon, and had a scarred face-which I assume was 2P! Spain, was silently sitting beside 2P! Romano, but surprisingly spoke up, "...'Francois'?"

"Hmm. That must be the old man's 'human name', eh?" 2P! Canada pointed out.

I nodded, "Yeah...he's 'Francois Bonnefoy'..." I said, pointing to the guy who disturbingly asked if he could uh...do things to me.

"Oh. Then care to tell us our 'human names' from your world, dollface?" 2P! America asked.

I crossed my arms, "Don't you guys already know that? I mean...you did sort of well, stalked me back in my world."

"No. We had limited time to do that." 2P! Russia told me.

I thought for a moment then spoke, "If...If I tell you your human names, will you let me see the 1Ps later?"

Luciano gave an annoyed look and shook his head, "Definitely not, ragazza."

"We cannot risk you running off back to them and helping them out. What's the point of all we're doing if you just get in the way against our plans?" 2P! Japan said.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Then...then tell me why you want to 'banish them from this world' as you guys have said."

"Denied." 2P! China said bluntly.

I crossed my arms. "Hmph. Then I'm not telling anything."

"Awww~ But I wanted to know my 'human name'! C'mon guys, we're just going to explain it to her! Maybe she'll even side with us fully when she finds out!~ Guys,pleeeaaasssseee?" 2P! Romano whined.

Several groaned before Lutz spoke, "Fine."

My eyes brightened. "Alright. Explain to me first."

"Well, ragazza, that's going to be a long story. To sum it up, we were just *used* by those beloved "First Players" of yours. When they didn't need us anymore, they just

threw us away like some disposable shit. We used to serve a purpose and meaning

in this hypocritical world, but they just took it away from us." Luciano explained.

Although I listened intently to what he said, I was still confused and couldn't comprehend what he was telling me. "I...don't understand."

"Dear fratello~ You ended up getting her more confused. Let me make it easier for you, hon." 2P! Romano turned to me.

"You see, honey, the 'First Players' were born with the burden of their whole nation on their shoulders. Everything their country was made to face, was dumped on them. Countries were born with the ability to withstand the stress of those problems and push through every obstacle. But at a certain point in time, several countries faced a phase in their immortal lives that they weren't able to take all on their own." he explained.

As I began understanding what 2P! Romano said, I nodded. "...What was that 'certain point in time' that you're referring to?"

Spain looked up and spoke, **"War."**

I tilted my head, "...War?"

"That's right, doll. You've probably studied about wars in school, yeah?" Allen asked.

I nodded, "Yeah...I have."

"Mhmm. What happens when there's war?" Francois asked me lazily.

My forehead creased as I tried to cite a few things, "Uh...fighting, guns, blood, and er... death?"

From the corner of the room, a man peeked from his hooded cape and walked up to us slowly. "Don't forget fear, anxiety, terror, depression, suicidal thoughts and m-"

"-Yeah, yeah. Shut your depressed trap. She gets it." 2P! Canada cut 2P! Prussia off.

"That being said, basically, countries have faced an overhaul of negativity and almost broke their sanity and emotional handling. They weren't able to bear it. Fighting against countries that used to be their comrades, killing people who were either their enemies or innocent civilians, all the exposure to blood and dead bodies-those weaklings had just about reached the brink of losing it." 2P! Japan added.

After processing what he said, I sat back on the chair and spoke slowly,

"...Then...that's where you guys come along, am I right?"

"Heh. So she can use her head, after all. That is correct. As a result of all that, we came into existence." 2P! Germany answered, giving a small smirk.

Allen sat on a chair beside me and raised his feet up the table. "While those bastards where losing their shit, we were made to do all the dirty work for them.

Hey, it was mighty fine and all, beating people up, breaking their bones, making them puke blood out and all them pleasuring screams of pain-we couldn't get enough of it. It was what drove us on. But then! Then those fucking retards-"

"America! Watch your language, I told you! Stop saying those bad words in front of the poppet!" Oliver snapped while he was reading some sort of spell book.

"Whatever, old man! I do what I want." Allen retorted.

Oliver puffed his cheeks and muttered something like, "you meanie jerkface sassafrass", then continued scanning his spellbook.

Allen crossed his arms. "Hmph. Now, where was I? Ah, yeah... Then those 'First Players' decided to stop us."

I raised an eyebrow, "Stop you?"

"Well, even though we sort of saw it coming, the war was supposed to end at some point." 2P! Canada answered. "While we were doing what we were created for, they backed out and decided that the war had to stop and that they all could make amends and have 'peace'."

"Si... But you know, it was actually fine with us because we knew that even if the war ended then, one day another one will stir up and we'd be back in the battlefield once more." Luciano said, toying with his switchblade.

"Oh. Then it was actually okay with you guys.. what was the problem, then?" I asked them.

"The problem was, they wanted to get rid of us." 2P! France said.

"What? Why?"

"Well, say you did something bad like, break porcelain or whatever...will you just leave it there and tell everyone that you broke it?" 2P! China asked me.

I gave a confused look, "N-No... I'd probably throw it away to hide the evidence and well, hope that they don't find out?"

"Exactly. That's what *they* have done to us." 2P! Germany said.

Kuro spoke, "They figured that if they left us to roam freely in public, they will be reminded of all the mistakes they have done in the past. Every single speck of their said evils portrayed in countries that almost look like their mirror-images."

"They tried having us eliminated from this world, but since we have their likeness as a country, too-the only thing that they could do was to banish us. That was not pretty at all, honey." 2P! Romano explained.

2P! Russia finished his bottle of vodka and spoke, "They made us flee from our homes. Rid us of essential needs in hopes that one day, we might somehow die and disappear. They never even acknowledged us from saving their hands from half of the bloodshed! They denied that we existed. They denied us of our existence."

"Right.. What were we to do then? All we could do was stay in this blasted forest. We built homes around here from time to time, but without people in it..it just wasn't enough. We were made to feel all the emptiness, doom and despair..." 2P!Prussia said in a remorseful tone.

"We-We were made to exist in this world without purpose. Without meaning. Tch. We weren't even allowed to kill like how we used to before. We were deprived of everything. What were we supposed to do?!" Allen exclaimed.

I was about to answer, "Fi-"

"-Get back at them, of course." 2P! China cut me off.

_"Dangit! Really? Really? Even the 2P version of China cuts me off my sentences, really?"_ I thought to myself, pouting.

"Right. Then, when we finally get rid of them, we can establish ourselves as our own country. Take over theirs." Luciano said.

I just sat there in silence for a while as did they after that long explanation of the nature of how "Second Players" came to be. It was a lot to process.

...Who knew? Who even knew that beyond these people interpreted as "murderous psychopaths" was a backstory of pain and negligence?

I didn't. Not until now.

In all honesty, they have a point. The 1Ps have a fault here, too.

But...their solution...is...isn't right.

Meaning? Purpose? Truth be told, shit like that runs deep. Numerous theories and fanfictions have I read about these Second Players...but...they barely mention topics like these.

Usually, it's just about them being their insane, blood-loving, bone-crunching kind of people.

Usually, when the 1Ps are involved, the 2Ps...well...they're...the antagonists of stories.

They're still the antagonists of this story...right?

_...or are they?_

The 1Ps figured it'd be best to have the 2Ps away from them because, well, it's given that they are dangerous...but to just throw them away...was also wrong.

The 2Ps figured that the only way for them to have a place in this world was for the 1Ps to disappear themselves, granted it's their way of revenge...but to try to kill the 1Ps...wasn't the correct way to handle it at all.

Each side had their own sense of justice...but which one should prevail?

Even though I'm starting to understand the 2Ps...I can't just let them hurt the 1Ps.

What can I do?

I'm back to the question, "Why am I here, anyway?"

I don't know why I'm here...but what I do know is that I want to get out of this mansion. With my parents...and my friends.

Maybe...maybe I can sneak out of here and ask the 1Ps to help me save my parents from the 2Ps? It may be dangerous, but it's possible.

But wait...

If I do get back to the side of the 1Ps...what will become of the 2Ps?

What -What happens after all this, after the 1Ps find out that it was the 2Ps doing...?

Will the 1Ps try to get rid of the 2Ps just like how they thought they have back then?

I rubbed my temples as my head started to ache from all the thinking and all the contemplation.

Then, something came to mind.

Maybe...I can fix this?

Maybe...

_Maybe...words are the answer?_

* * *

**_/End of Chapter 9 (Part 1)/_**

* * *

_A/N:_ Hello! Thank you all for reading my fanfic! I didn't think that anyone was reading it here xD So, I really appreciate it! :)

Anyways, I just have some notes about this chapter part.

Okay...so it's a bit of a mix of disturbing questions and serious discussions.

These parts of the story are one of the many revelation and explanation parts.

It sort of explains what the 2Ps are (in _my_ fanfic universe not canon).

In my perspective, that's how the 2Ps came to be, but I know there are different opinions out there and I respect that. :) I just wanted to point out the reason why they "planned" to get the 1Ps inside the abandoned mansion.

Also, the events are starting to go astray from the original plot of "HetaOni"-because I want it to become well, in-sync with the 2P story. You know, so that the role of the 2Ps will fit in.

Here, we can see that the reader tries to understand between the sense of justice of the 2Ps along with the 1Ps.

I was inspired by the song, "Justice Breaker" which originally by Gumi, but I liked the Hetaloid-USA version better

Sorry, if some characters might get OOC or if the plot's a bit hard to digest. I am not that experienced in writing fanfics.

If there's something you didn't catch in the story, feel free to review or PM me-and I will wholeheartedly explain!

Another thing, I wanted to show here that just because the 1Ps are the "original", doesn't mean that they don't have their faults. Though they are countries, they are well...personified countries-meaning that they have similar characteristics with people, with humans just like us...and they are capable of mistakes, too.

It is not yet clear whether the 2Ps are telling the truth or not, but you (reader) try to keep neutral and judge both sides without bias-but of course you are aware of the personalities of the 2Ps...so you do not trust them all that much yet.

Being put in a situation like, what is there to do?

The reader here is portrayed as a Hetalian. A Hetalian just like you and me. If we were to *imagine* put in a situation like this, it'd feel like a dream... but in reader-chan's "reality"...it's not all fun and games. Of course, our instincts will take over and try to keep level head. Although reader will have her faults, as well. I mean, who doesn't?

That is all for now! Thank you for reading!


	23. Chapter 9 (Part 2)

**-CHAPTER IX: Phone Calls (Part 2)-**

_/Third Person PoV/_

An Italian man wearing a blue military uniform searched around the remains of the burnt rope ladder in the tunnel within the basement.

"No...

It isn't here, after all. Where did I hide it,again...? Was it on the 3rd floor, maybe?

Maybe not. Ugh, I'm really anxious now. But if I calm down, I'll remember...

There was another one that I hid with America. And then... um..."

Suddenly, he heard someone shout, "I found you, _Venezianooo!_"

"... What?"

Italy looks up to see Romano and Spain, above him at the supposed-to-be exit.

"Ro-Wh-why?!" Italy asked, shocked that his brother and his friend are there.

"Good thing the front door wasn't opening, so I was just loitering around here. I_ finally_ found you! What the hell have you been up to?" the older brother asked.

Spain looked below and gave a sigh of relief. "Ita! Thank God! You can't stay there all alone. Where are the other guys?"

"What-what are you doing here?! We didn't ask you to come here!" Italy told them, exasperated.

"What did you do with the clocks? Did you break all of them?!" Romano asked.

How-how did you know about that?" Italy answered his question with another question, obviously confused as to why Romano knew.

"Answer me! Did you break the last clock?!"

Italy was taken aback. "It can't be... You weren't supposed to know about that... What are you even doing here in the first place?"

"Romano, I know you're happy to see him, but don't get too excited..." Spain tried to hold back the younger man.

"Veneziano! I'm coming there right now, so don't move!" Romano said.

Italy waved his arms, motioning them to leave, a frustrated expression on his face. "N-no! Don't come here, no matter what! Go home! What are you doing here?! How-how did you know?!"

Romano was silent for a while, but then spoke softly, "...Try saying my name."

Italy furrowed his brows, but answered, "R-Romano..."

"No! Say my full name!" the Southern Italian ordered him.

"...Italy.

_Italy Roma...no._..", he replied slowly.

Romano gave a warm smile. "Yeah, that's right. I'm Italy, too!

I don't know everything you remember, but I do plan on carrying at least a little of that burden on my shoulders!

You haven't been alone all this time! You've...broken quite a few clocks, haven't you?"

"Y-yes... but..."

"The flow of time got fixed. That's why we were finally able to get here. Not just us, you know? The others are also coming to help you guys." Spain added.

Romano took a deep breath. "I fiiiiiinally found you. I've been trying to find you for ages-couldn't find you-the phone wouldn't work, and sometimes I felt these shocks, like half of me had disappeared, every single time-You-IDIOT!", he shouted.

"(I wasn't able to bear it... That's why several of my memories flowed to Romano and hecame looking for us...)

(Why did they have to come here...? Why...? Even if something happens to me, if my brother is here-)

(No. I've already had too much of the first time and I'm getting confused. I have no idea what I should do.)" Italy started to panic internally.

Romano noticed his brother's silence, "Veneziano?"

"I'm sorry, Romano. I have to go. I'm sorry, but... just go home!" the younger brother told him and walked away.

"Ack! YOU BASTARD!

Wait!" Romano exclaimed as he was about to climb down the rope ladder.

Spain stopped him from descending, "Whoa! No, Romano! I'll try going down the ropes first, and you just wait here, okay?"

"Can you really use this ladder? I can't seethe bottom very well..." Romano said, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness below them.

"I think it's okay? Though I can't see it very well, either. The boss will go down first, so wait just a moment!" Spain said.

The Spaniard slowly climbs down the rope ladder.

"It's fine. The ropes aren't even rotten..."

He failed to notice the ladder was burnt halfway, causing himself to fall down.

"Spain?! A-are you okay?!" Romano asked after hearing a loud thud.

Spain winced in pain and rubbed his bottom. "Ugh... ow... Oh, no, the ropes are burnt halfway down... I hadn't noticed... Ooh, ow."

"H-hey!" Romano called out.

"Romano."

"Yeah?"

"I'm so glad Ita is all right." Spain said, smiling.

"... Hn."

The Spaniard then stood up and spoke, "I'll see if I can find something to use instead of the ladder. Wait just a moment."

"All right. Don't take too long, or I'll get down this, anyway. A-and...b-be careful..." Romano said shyly.

Spain grinned upon hearing the Southern Italian's words. "Oh! Are you worried about me? That makes me so happy! I'll be right back, so just wait right there."

/Reader's PoV!/

"Okay, honey~ We told you want you wanted to know! Now, tell me what fabulous name I've been bestowed?~" 2P! Romano piped up.

"Flavio. Flavio Vargas." I told him, smiling a bit. His character is so drastically different from Romano. His cheery mood's rubbing off on me a little.

"Flavio, hmm?~ It's fantastic! I think it really suits me, hon!~"

Luciano groaned. "Ugh. You fancy bastard, don't act so gay. It's revolting."

"Excuuussee me, voi poco cazzo?! What's his name anyway, honey?" he cussed at his brother then turned to me.

"Luciano Vargas." I replied.

Flavio flicked his hair to the side. "Hmph. His name sounds substandard!"

"Say that again, cazzo cagna?!" Luciano dared Flavio, his temper lost.

As the two Italians bickered, 2P! America went beside me and placed an arm over my shoulders.

"Well, while those two are busy bitching each other, tell me my name!" he told me.

I faced him and spoke, "Allen Jones, or Al Jones..or just Al, if you like."

"Heh. Al, huh? Sounds good. Call me Al, from now on, doll." he winked at me.

Oliver took a break from looking for the spell and chimed in, "Ooh! But I think 'Allen' is a lovely name for you, dear~"

"No way. Don't call me that!" Allen told him.

"Hahaha! 'ALLEN'! 'ALLEN'!" 2P! Canada teased.

Allen thumped the Canadian's head. "Shut the fuck up. What's your name, anyway?!"

"He's Matthieu Williams. 'Matt' for short." I answered.

"That's a gay na-oof!" Allen got cut off when Matt punched his stomach.

The other 2Ps went huddled closer to us, excluding the two pairs of brothers who are in the middle of a fistfight.

I decided to just point and tell which name belonged to whom.

"Nikolai Braginski." I said, pointing at the large Russian chugging down another bottle of vodka.

He just placed his bottle on the table and mumbled a "hmm"

After that, I pointed to the Chinese man beside him who was smoking opium. "Wang Zao."

"Zao, huh?" he said whilst blowing smoke.

"Kuro Honda." I pointed at the Japanese man who just stared blankly at us. Probably silently judging.

I turned to the scar-faced Spaniard, "Andres Fernandez Carriedo."

"Ooh~ It's so long." Flavio commented.

"That's what he said." I said unconsciously. To my surprise, Allen and I said it at the same time. "Hey!~" the red haired American smirked and gave me a thumbs up-before he got uppercut by Matt. I held back a giggle.

"Gilen Beilschmidt. Or just Gil." I told 2P! Prussia.

He just hung his head low and sighed, "It's such a nice name. So nice it does not deserve a lowly sap like me. Then again, names are useful when writing tombstones or-"

"-Tch. Don't start on that again, bruder." 2P! Germany interrupted.

"Lutz." I said, pointing at him.

I walked over to the chair by the fireplace where Oliver was in a serious mood, scanning his spellbook.

"Oliver Kirkland." I said as I placed a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up to face me and gave a smile, "I already know that, poppet~ Actually, I think I want you to call me 'Ollie' if you feel like it!"

I tilted my head and gave a puzzled smile, "Sure. If you say so..Ollie."

"Ah. You may sit anywhere you like, poppet. I'll just be here searching for that spell." he told me, motioning me to leave him be for the time being.

I nodded and went over to sit on a chair and observe the others. Luciano and Flavio were done bickering. The latter was already admiring himself at one of the weird mirrors in the room while the former was polishing his knives.

Allen and Matt got tired of kicking each other's butts. Allen was munching on what I assume to be a veggie burger. Matt, on the other hand...was-is he gulping down maple syrup?! I... I am not sure. I don't need to pry.

Kuro was tending to his katanas, while beside him was Lutz who was reading a lewd magazine out in the open.

Francois was sleeping on the floor, an unlit cigarette in between his fingers.

Seeming to have run out of vodka, Nikolai was just staring blankly at the wall. Maybe thinking of how it'd be better if he had more vodka. Zao was beside him, still puffing out opium. I waved my hand in front of my face to waft to smoke away from me.

Gil was sulking in a corner, while Andres was beside him, cleaning his gun with a piece of cloth.

Breaking the silence, I spoke up, "You know...you guys don't need to kill the 1Ps-"

"Uh huh. Listen, ragazza, no matter how many good things you enumerate about those 'First Players', you won't be able to change our minds." Luciano said, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

I shook my head. "No. No... I meant... You guys don't need to kill the 1Ps to mean anything or to have purpose."

Eyebrows were raised. They did not say a word, but seemed to have shifted their eyes on me. I fidgeted a little, but continued speaking.

"You see...back in the world where I was from...you guys actually have a ton of fans."

"I knew I was really fabulous!~" Flavio beamed.

The others looked at me, hinting that I continue. "Well...you may not know this, but you guys...are actually really loved by your fans. They draw beautiful fanarts, formulate theories about what you're like and what you may be like, cosplay as you guys-and even write really long fanfictions about you guys!"

They were a bit taken aback at what I just said. Allen finished his veggie burger and spoke in an irritated tone, "Doll. We didn't plan on hurting you, but tell us anymore of them lies and nonsense-and your face just might get acquainted with my bat."

I gulped at the thought. "I'm not lying. In all honesty, you guys have a large fanbase. Some people even prefer you guys more than the 1Ps. They all find you interesting and actually admire you all a lot." I said, starting to smile sincerely as I explained.

Francois opened an eye and spoke groggily, "Hard to believe."

The other 2Ps nodded.

"I...well..." I started mumbling, unsure of how to convince them.

They started to lose interest and turned away. Luciano clicked his tongue at me and spoke, "Tch. Stop bothering us with your shi-"

"-2P Northern Italy is considered bossy, naughty, and particulary moody." I cut him off.

"The fuck?! I am not!" he retorted.

Flavio laughed, along with Lutz. "Honey, that is sooo true!~ How did you know?", the blonde Italian asked.

"Actually...whenever I have spare time...I read about you guys." I admitted.

"Che. It doesn't mean anything. You're just making that up." Luciano huffed.

A bit annoyed at him for not believing me, I walked up in front of him, looked at him straight in the eyes and spoke confidently, "2P Italy takes control of what he has and will manipulate what he does not. He can be short tempered and impatient when angered. He has a severe fascination with throwing knives and is stated as being particularly gifted when it comes to their use."

Luciano's magenta coloured orbs widened as I spoke. It seems that he is starting to realise I wasn't lying.

I turned to the others and gave bits of info that I have on them.

"Lutz is sloppy, arrogant and boastful, but can be very loyal.

Kuro is cold and judgemental, but is really good in martial arts and various sword forms.

Allen's really good in baseball. He's a vegetarian. He also likes to pick fights with Matt. Matt, on the other hand, is a strong fighter and usually wins against his brother. He hunts, not animals, but poachers-"

"You...what are you?" Matt asked me all of a sudden. It seems that they are quite puzzled as to why I know all these.

I smiled. "I'm a Hetalian. I'm one of your fans."

"You mean to say, that there are other people like you-who actually-wait!" Allen stopped for a moment but continued, "...doll, you're our fan?"

"Hmm? I thought you like those 'First Player' idiots?" Nikolai pointed out.

I shrugged. "Just because I like them, doesn't mean I don't like you guys-well, as fictional characters. I mean, as much as I wanted to fangirl about you real life 2Ps...I wasn't given the welcome I expected. You guys practically abducted me!"

They all seemed amused by this. "Sorry, honey, but it was necessary. We've planned for this for so long. And besides..." Flavio trailed off.

"In your world, we may be 'well-accepted'...but in this world, where it matters...we aren't." Zao continued for him.

I looked away. I haven't thought of that. Might as well tell them what's on my mind.

"Well, that may be so... I-I just thought, well, if fans are able to like both the 1Ps and the 2Ps...people could might as well do that here, too. I mean, it was uncalled for the 1Ps to banish you all...but isn't it the same to do it in their case? Can't this be worked out in some other way?"

Luciano gave a sarcastic laugh. "Ragazza, you know very well that it's not that easy. Maybe you're forgetting that...", he suddenly threw a knive that flew past me and hit the wall behind, "...that we are dangerous people. Those bastards won't allow us to do anything."

I shook a bit, gave a heavy sigh and spoke softly, but audible for them to hear, "...But it doesn't mean that you guys couldn't live like normal people, without feeling deprived of anything."

"Live normally? Hah. Those 'First Players' treat us like trash. They think of us as lower life forms. Who would let us live _normally_? Who would even _accept_ us?" Luciano asked, starting to sound frustrated by our discussion.

"Given the circumstances that you wouldn't kill me, I would. I would accept you guys." I told them. "You guys exist. The mere fact that you guys still do is because you guys still have a purpose in this world. Sure, I know you guys are capable of murdering people...but if you guys learn to control that, you guys could still well, live 'normally'. Even not as 'normal' as others, but at least being 'yourselves'..."

"Unbelievable." Francois let out before resuming his slumber once more. At this, the whole room fell into silence.

Was it no use, after all?

I started to feel a sinking feeling in my chest. Maybe I could try talking to them, again? I cleared my throat and spoke, "Hey-"

"OH! Here it is! I finally got it!~" Oliver beamed.

The 2Ps turned to the colourful Brit upon his announcement. "About time, old man." Allen told him.

Oliver stood up from his chair and skipped over to the red haired America. "Here you go, Allen~" he said, handing the tan man a cupcake.

"A cupcake? The f-"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light that enveloped the room while Oliver chanted incoherent words. When everything turned back to normal, Oliver spoke, "There we go~ It may be a normal cupcake when eaten by others, but when eaten by specifically your little Stevie, he'll be big and powerful~"

Allen gave a skeptical look but then smirked. "Heh. Alright, then.", he looked at the others and they nodded.

"Then we should be off." Lutz said.

My eyes widened. "W-Wait! No, hold on... Where are you guys-"

"-Like we said, ragazza. We're going to get rid of them. Starting with one of the bastards that keep rewinding time." Luciano said darkly.

At that, the 2Ps started gathering their weapons and walked out of the door one by one.

"Hey, Oliver. Keep a close eye on the girl. Don't let her walk out this door." Matt called out before he exited the room. He was the last one to leave.

As the door closed, I suddenly snapped myself back to reality.

No. No... They're going to hurt Italy. They're going to hurt them! ...Hurt isn't even the correct term. ...They're going to _kill_ them.

I rushed towards the door and tried opening it. Locked.

"It's useless, poppet." Oliver said, hinting an apologetic tone.

My eyes started to well up. "Why? Why does it have to be like this? You guys have suffered, but they have suffered, too! Both sides are suffering! Both sides are hurt. Everyone...is..."

Oliver suddenly pulled me into a hug. "Shh... Poppet, don't...cry..."

"Please...let me out of here." I pleaded.

He tightened his hug upon hearing this. "...I'm sorry, I can't."

I pulled away from him and stared into his blue orbs that swirled pink.

_**"Please...Ollie."**_


	24. Chapter 9 (Part 3)

**-CHAPTER IX: Phone Calls (Part 3)-**

* * *

-*-*-*-Iron Cell Room-*-*-*-

* * *

/Third Person PoV/

* * *

Japan tries to cut the bars using his sword, sound of the clashes filled the room.

"It's no use! My sword can't cut the bars." the slim, Japanese man sighed.

Russia lowered his head, "We can't just use brute strength... Too bad. I don't know what he was going to do, but we have to go after him quickly."

"But then we can't get out unless someone opens it for us from the outside." Canada told them softly.

" 'Someone'...that would be (Name).. Where did she disappear to?!" England asked.

Prussia looked around. "...She was with us on the way here..."

"Aiyah! We have to look for the girl, too!" China exclaimed.

"It seems that Italy has overlooked (Name). What if...what if the girl gets chased by the monster?! Mon dieu!..." France said in a worried tone.

"No... I trust that she knows when and where the monster would show up at a time like this..." Japan told them.

Germany raised an eyebrow. "Huh? How are you able to say that, Japan?"

Prussia crossed his arms and nodded. "Hnn... The frau knows how this...'game' plays out..."

They all looked at Japan and Prussia with confusion written all over their faces.

"What?! What are you guys talking about?" England demanded to know.

Japan looked away. "I'm sorry...but we wanted (Name)-chan to tell you this herself... "

"Ha~ I knew it... The little sunflower does know something." Russia said cheerfully.

"Ja...it was a bit difficult to believe at first...but she's...not from...'this world'..." Prussia told them.

America went up to them excitedly, "OOH! She's an alien?!"

England rolled his eyes and hit America on the head.

"Oww..." America let out, clutching the area England hit.

"No, you git! I don't think they mean it like that! I think they're referring to the girl...not being from-this dimension?" England concluded.

Japan nodded, "Hai. She comes from a place where this situation we're in is not real...but only fiction."

"I'm sorry, but I'm really getting lost here, aru." China told him.

"The frau hasn't told us the full story yet... she was supposed to do that today... She was supposed to explain to us everything she knew..." Prussia said, looking across the bars.

"Hmm? Could it be that she knew that we'd be locked in here? How come she's not showing up to get us out of here?" Russia inquired.

America sighed. "...What are we going to do? If no one shows up-"

Suddenly, they hear the door open.

"(Name)! (Name)! Oh thank god! Let the hero out of this cage now please! HAHAHA!" the loud American exclaimed. Though, the person who entered was not the girl they expected, but a man with dark brown hair and green eyes.

"Whoa! Wh-what is this?!What are you all doing?!" Spain asked, confused as to why the countries were locked up in a cell.

"It's not (Name), aru." China said.

"Huh? What?! A zoo? A world zoo?!Do not touch or feed the nations?!" Spain concluded excitedly.

France shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it... Is he for real?"

Spain snapped out of his amazement, "Oh, I just remembered! By the way, don't you guys have a ladder or anything like that? Roma-"

"Spain! Open this cell!" Germany cut him off loudly.

"Ack...! Wh-what? What do you mean? I mean, didn't Ita come this way?" Spain asked them.

Japan motioned at the cell door. "We'll explain the situation later! Just open this cell first! Please!"

On their way to the tunnel were the rope ladder was, Prussia turned to Spain.

"By the way, have you seen a frau walking around on your way here?"

"Huh?"

"You see...there's also this young girl who unfortunately ended up trapped here, as well..."

"R-Really? A chica..."

"Yeah...she has (hair colour) hair and (eye colour) eyes..."

Spain snapped his fingers. "OH! Uhm, isn't she with Ita?"

"What?"

"They had their backs turned at me, but I saw her being carried by Ita. I didn't even get to call out to them because I suddenly heard some clashing in the room near me. So I entered it and found you guys."

"M-Maybe Italy wanted to lock her up somewhere, too?"

"That must be the case. For now, let's go to the tunnel with the rope ladder."

"Agreed."

* * *

-*-*-*-First Floor, Outside door to basement-*-*-*-

* * *

"First I'll look for another metal piece. I remember where it's hidden... and if I look for them one by one, maybe I'll remember more." Italy told himself.

Italy heads up to the lower right room on the second floor. Little did he know...that he was being watched.

* * *

-*-*-*-Second Floor, Fireplace Room-*-*-*-

* * *

Luciano, Flavio, Matt, and Allen were in the fireplace room, waiting for Kuro and the others to give the signal that 1P Italy was going inside the room across them.

"So, what did the Kuro guy say?" Allen turned to Luciano.

The auburn haired Italian placed his phone back in his pocket. "He's on his way upstairs. How about your pet?"

"Hey. He's my buddy, get your shit straight. He's already positioned above the room across us, so that he could just pounce on the little bitch later."

Flavio blankly stared the fireplace. "Hey...Luci..."

"What the fuck? Don't call me that." Luciano snapped.

The older brother brushed it off and continued, "What do you think of the girl...you know..what she said earlier..? What if... what if she's right? What if we could just-"

Luciano shot a glare at Flavio. "-Don't give me that shit, Flavio. She's probably just...brainwashing us or something. Heck, maybe she just made that up so she could talk us out of our plans! If we gave her the chance to choose between us and those 'First Player' bastards, of course she'll choose them and not us! She doesn't care about us. No one does."

The blonde haired Italian looked away, not wanting his brother to see that glint of sadness in his eyes.

"She did seem to be telling the truth when she said she knew us. Hell, she even knew that this guy's a vegan and that I hunt poachers." Matt said, pointing at his brother and them to himself.

"Yeah. Funny, she seems okay to hang out with. I mean, she knows innuendos, too. Haha." Allen chuckled.

"Tch. Stop screwing around. We just need her to tell us how to give the rest of those 'First Players' their 'Game Over'. Then, we'll send her back to her world." Luciano told them.

"Have you ever thought that we could actually live normally?" Flavio suddenly asked.

Luciano raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, have you ever considered it? If we were allowed to live like 'normal people', I'd probably own a boutique or have my own fashion line or something!~ Even you, dear brother, could do something else, too. Like, I don't know, why don't you be a mafia boss or something? Back then, you always were interested in them." Flavio smiled wistfully.

Luciano was starting to wonder what's gotten into his brother's mind. Was he serious? It's impossible, right? It's-

"Shh. The target's already in the other room." Matt whispered as he peeked through the door, snapping Luciano out of his thoughts.

"Understood. Get ready."

* * *

-*-*-*-Second Floor, Room across the Fireplace Room-*-*-*-

* * *

"Was it here?" Italy wondered as he searched the room.

"I've finally got everyone together. I'll definitely get them to escape.

... Or else I'll be confined to a world where I'm all alone...

Then again, even though I tried to be at least a little reliable, it looks like they couldn't trust me...

...If I went back... they wouldn't get mad at me... would they?

They'd say sorry, and they'd yell a lot and scold me, and then...

They'd... hug me, and I'd hug them... and I'd also say I'm sorry...

All this time... Really, all this time... I

... with them... from here

Suddenly, a monster appeared before him. This Steve was about thrice as large as the usual ones. It started approaching Italy.

"Ts?!

Oh

_Ger-ma-"_

/Reader's PoV!/

"Please...Ollie." I pleaded.

"(Name), poppet..." he sighed.

I pulled away from him and started walking over to the long table. I just sat on one of the chairs in silence.

"Ollie...I have a question."

He suddenly perked up and approached me, "What is it?"

I faced him, "If...If you guys do happen to accomplish your goal here...what will you do after?"

Oliver froze. "After...? You mean, after I turn them into cupcakes?~" he smiled insanely as the pink swirls in his eyes started to become dominant.

I shook my head, a bit scared of what he just said. "No... I mean...how do you guys want to live your life after this? Are you guys planning on running a whole nation?"

His smile disappeared and his eyebrows furrowed. "Running...a whole nation? That's what Luciano said...but as for myself... I... I'm not so sure about that, poppet..."

"I thought you guys wanted to take over their lives?"

"That...ah well... We do... We want to take away their purpose like how they did to us." Oliver said, twiddling his thumbs.

"Well, doesn't that include taking their place as country personifications? I mean, you guys are their counterparts, after all. You're immortal, too." I told him.

Oliver looked down. "That...That would mean I'd become very busy now, wouldn't it, poppet?"

"Very. Is...that what you guys want? To carry their burden as a nation?" I asked.

"No. No...not that... I-I guess we haven't thought that part out yet...but then..."

"Hmm?"

Oliver looked at me and pouted, "...If I become really busy, how will I have time for making cupcakes? Or tending my garden? Or...or..."

I giggled. So that's what he was thinking?

"Poppet, you're laughing at me." he frowned.

I shook my head and smiled. "I'm not...It's just that, it's cute of you to worry about your cupcakes, and your garden."

He giggled, as well. "Well, poppet, those are important!"

"Why don't you just open a pastry shop or something?" I asked him.

"Huh?"

I looked at him straight in the eyes. "You know...we could maybe persuade the 1Ps to at least let you guys live 'normally'. Although you probably have to promise them not to put an innocent person into the cupcakes. The one that you gave me...didn't have any, did it?"

Oliver shook his head. "I would never do that to you, poppet!"

"Oh. Then let me tell you, it was the best cupcake I have ever eaten."

He suddenly brightened at this. "Really? That's wonderful. Thank you!~"

"So, why don't you just open up your own pastry shop? You know, sell cupcakes and stuff?"

The strawberry blonde haired man sat beside me. "Huh. I haven't thought of that before, poppet."

"You guys...could actually have a good life, even without getting rid of the 1Ps. You don't need to kill them. Maybe...you could talk to them? We have words, right? It could work..." I suggested.

Oliver's expression darkened as he looked away. "You're...just telling me that because you care about the 'First Players'..."

"Ollie, I may care for them...but I actually care about you guys, too. I've liked you guys even before I met you all in real life. Given a different situation where...you guys wouldn't hurt me or kidnap me and take my parents hostage... I probably would have been delighted to see you all."

He turned to face me with hopeful eyes. "R-Really, poppet?"

"Yes, really." I replied, giving him a sincere smile.

"But...we're in this...situation..." he said sadly.

"...Y-Yeah..."

"(Name)..poppet...if...if this 'game' had a good ending for everyone...or rather...if this game never happened at all, would you accept me as your friend?" he asked me shyly.

My eyes widened at his question. "Actually...we could be friends right now." I told him.

"W-We can? But..but we've been such meanies to you..." he stated.

"...I believe in giving second chances. Beyond the insanity...you're always willing to make the people you care for smile. And you don't swear, which is rare-but good. You guys may think that just because you were banished no one would like you, but I beg to differ. If you promise not to hurt innocent people, it'd make me happy. Would you...like to be friends, Ollie?"

Olivers eyes started welling up as his lips trembled. "Poppet! I'd love to!", he exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug.

I patted his back to soothe him. "Ollie...why are you crying..?"

"My apologies, poppet... I just...I'm really happy." he said, sniffling in between his words.

"Well, I'm happy you're happy." I told him. He pulled away from our hug and spoke, "I'd celebrate this moment with cupcakes-but I'm all out of them."

"Cupcakes...AH! T-The others! The others are..!" I suddenly panicked upon remembering the dangers following Italy and the other 1Ps.

Oliver lowered his head. "I'm sorry, poppet. They're already downstairs... Allen probably gave Steve the cupcake already, too... Once the alien kills the Italian 'First Player'...they'll go after the others who are conveniently locked inside the cell."

"No...I-I have to go there! I have to-help..." I said frantically.

I waved my hand in front of me and saw a screen appear.

* * *

_The screen showed Italy, being ambushed by a monster thrice as large as the usual ones. The Italian was slowly stepping backwards._

_"Ts?!_

_Oh_

_**Ger-ma-**"_

* * *

_/_

_"_ITALY!" I shouted, seriously worried about the man about to get attacked by the alien-like monster.

Oliver placed a hand on my shoulder. "Poppet..."

"Ollie...wh-what...what do I do? I...I can't just...I-I can't just stay here and do nothing!" I cried.

I rushed towards the door and tried turning the knob, tears were flowing down my cheeks. "I-I need...I need to get o-out...and s-..." I suddenly stopped.

"...(Name)? Poppet..?" Oliver asked, confused as to why I froze all of a sudden.

"...My...parents..." I muttered.

"Oh..."

"No. No. No! Italy's in danger! The others are in danger! But...but! If I try to help...m-my parents..will...they'll be..." I fell to my knees and sobbed.

I don't know what to do. I'm torn between doing two things that I know I should do. Should I? Should I not? What else can I do? Is there another way? How will I get out? How? What? AH!

Anymore...anymore...and I might just go...insane...

"Poppet...go." Oliver said.

"H-Huh?"

"I'll allow you to leave. You may go." he said.

"But m-my parents a-"

"If...If you promise me to not tell the 'First Players' about us...I'll protect them." he shrugged.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. "Ollie..."

"You won't be able to go out through that door, follow me..." he said, motioning me towards the other side of the room.

He led me to the mirror. It was the same mirror that Flavio was admiring himself in front of a while back.

Oliver waved his hands and a flash of light brightened the room for a short moment. After that, our reflection disappeared, to be replaced by...a view of...

"Oliver...that's...the bathroom on the first floor, right..?" I asked.

He nodded. "Through this mirror, you'll be transported there. The 'First Player' Italy is in the room across the fireplace room of the second floor. Don't go there directly. Find the other 'First Players' before doing that because Allen and the others are on the second floor, too. Avoid them at all costs. Just do your best to quietly go to where the other 'First Players' are. "

"I...T-Thanks...but why...are you doing this...?"

"...Well...what are...friends for, poppet?" he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

I hugged him. "...Ollie," I gave him a thankful smile and continued, "what about you? Won't they...get mad?"

He winced a bit. "Well...I suppose I can handle it. Besides," he pulled away from the hug and give a wink, "they told me not to let you out through the door. They didn't say anything about a mirror."

I gave a soft chuckle, as did he.

I turned to the mirror and touched it...my hands started to pass through it.

Then, I remembered my bag.  
I scanned the room and spotted it in the corner. It seemed a bit lighter than it was, maybe they took away some of the refreshments. I looked at the mirror again and turned to Oliver. "Thanks...Ollie."

"Don't mention it, poppet. ...Take care."

"...You, too."

_**At that, I walked through the mirror.**_


	25. Chapter 9 (Part 4)

**-CHAPTER IX: Phone Calls (Part 4)-**

* * *

**/Reader's PoV/ **

* * *

_"Thanks...Ollie."_

_"Don't mention it, poppet. ...Take care."_

_"...You, too."_

_At that, I walked through the mirror._

* * *

The next thing I knew, I was standing on the tiled floor of the first floor's bathroom. I staggered a bit, maybe from the weird feeling of actually being magically transported from one room to another by...mirror. Slowly, I turned around to face my reflection, expecting Oliver to be seen on the other side. He wasn't, though. It was only my reflection. The image of the (age)-year old me in a not-so-peachy condition. Puffy eyes from crying, hair a bit disheveled from being blindfolded...not to mention the oh-so-wonderful cut on my cheek, courtesy of Mr. Luciano Vargas.

I lifted my hand up to my face and gently felt the cut. It didn't sting as much as before, but it still hurt if you put too much pressure on it. I gave a heavy sigh and glanced at the door. Once I'm out of here, I will no longer be safe.

Not only do I have to get up to the second floor while avoiding those random alien monsters, but I also have to be wary of the other 2Ps. If they see me, it'll be a death sentence.

Walking towards the door, I remembered that I could check where the 1Ps were at at the moment. I stopped walking and waved my hand in front of me, as I always did.

* * *

/~*~*~/

* * *

The game screen displayed the countries gathered around the area where the burnt rope ladder was. It seems they are in a conversation with someone above them, sitting on their supposed-to-be exit.

.

* * *

"That idiot...I didn't know he could be that stupid." a brown haired, amber-eyed man with a thick Italian accent that sounded a bit lower than Italy's. Hold on...that's...that's Romano!

Clutching my head a bit, I started to remember this part of the game wherein Romano and Spain arrive at the mansion, in search of Italy and the others.

France tilted his head. "What, you already get what's going on? All we told you is that Italy locked us up and left on his own..."

Spain nodded and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Yeah, I don't really get it, either, but it looks like he shares some memories with Ita."

"What? Does that mean he understands the situation better than we do, then?" Canada asked quietly.

"Spain! Did you find something to get me down there?!" Romano called over.

The Spaniard facepalmed upon remembering what he was supposed to look for earlier. "Oh... I forgot."

Japan shook his head. "...We don't have time for that. First, we'll go after Italy and look for _, so France can stay here with-"

"I can't wait! Enough of this! Stand back!" The South Italian shouted.

Spain's eyes widened in fear, "Er... Wait a minute... Ro-

-maaaaaa!"

As Spain was about to run to Romano's rescue, an albino bundle of awesomeness passed swiftly in front of him and caught the fallen Italian.

Prussia squinted his eyes, trying to adjust it to the darkness of the tunnel they were in, to check up on the Italian. "Are you okay, Italy's Brother?!"

Romano nodded weakly. "...I think so..."

"Nice catch!" America grinned, giving a thumbs up.

Canada turned to face the others and spoke softly, "Let's split up into two groups to look for 'll start from the basement."

"O-okay. We'll go after... Veneziano... too." Romano said weakly, staggering towards the wall.

England tilted his head, "Are you feeling dizzy? You're going the wrong way."

* * *

"Ah. So they're still there. Good. The door to the basement is just a few steps away from here." I said as I waved my hand once more, making the screen in front of me to disappear.

.

Gripping tightly on my bag, I walked up to the door and reached my hand out for the knob.

* * *

"Hey, Russia, get your ass out of that bathroom. The First Players are on their way upstairs, if they see us, our plans might get ruined." I heard someone say in a familiar accent.

I dared not move, but I listened intently. After a few moments, I heard a clacking noise from outside. It seems to be the door to the bathroom beside where I was.

"I told you, it's Nikolai."

"Hmm, you seriously going to use what that girl said?"

"It's better than being referred to by the same name as that lonely wimp."

"Ah. I see what you mean. Alright, Nikolai. Hahh.. What was my name, again? Za...Zao. Right... Zao. Not bad, re-mpfff"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, it seems as though the other guy stopped him.

After a few moments of silence, I heard Nikolai whisper.

"Shh. Looks like they're already out of the basement and are on the way to the second floor."

"Aiyah... Those damn bastards search pretty fast. Let's head upstairs cautiously."

"Da...hmm?"

"What is it?"

"The First Players are already upstairs...but strange..._I feel like we're not the only ones left on this floor._"

"Is that French drunkard slacking his ass off sleeping again?"

"No. No... Different..."

At that, I noticed the knob in front of me was turning.

Panic and fear was instilled in me as my heart pounded and my eyes widened while the knob was being turned from the other side ever so slowly.

Then, the door was opened.

"Heh."

I froze.

* * *

**/Third Person's PoV/**

* * *

The First Players headed to the second floor in search of Italy and (Name). When they were down to the second-to-the-last door, which was the fireplace room, they heard a commotion from the room opposite of them. So, they entered that room instead...only to find an inhumanely large monster that was about thrice as large as the usual creatures they fought in the mansion.

"Eeek!" Romano shrieked, upon seeing the vile being.

Prussia cautiously entered the room. "What the hell?!"

"Hah... Hah...!" They heard someone pant, the monster was blocking their view...but they had an idea of who that person was.

"Italy...?" Japan uttered slowly.

Germany's eyes widened as he heard this and thus, he shouted, "Italy!"

The monster disappears, upon being defeated by the Northern Italian coughing out blood.

"Hehe... You found me." he gave a weak chuckle, "Oh..."

Italy collapses, all bloody and bruised.

"Italy!" Germany loudly called out as he rushed to catch the injured Italian.

Italy gave a shaky breath and looked around him. "It's... you, Germany

...Romano, too, even though I told you not to..."

"Wh-why? Why didn't you run?! Don't be stupid! You should have waved your white flag like you always do!" Romano clutched onto his brother, tears springing from his eyes.

Italy did his best to nod. "Waving that... wouldn't have saved everyone. That's why I decided to do all I could..."

"Italy! Can you move?! Just take slow breaths!" Prussia told him frantically.

"There's still time! I'll stop the bleeding now, so bring me some bandages!"

"Just stop it! Why do you always have do things alone?! Take a look around you!

Shit-When you wake up, I'm going to fucking kill you!" Romano shouted, both in an angered and worried manner, the tears still running down his cheeks. He has never seen his own brother act like this before. It hurt him. It hurt him knowing his brother was in deep pain...and that he couldn't do a thing about it at that moment.

Italy's breath suddenly became laboured, "Aww... no... But when I... wake up again...I'll be...Oh... but I'm... so tired. And it really... hurts... What am I going to do? I haven't yet-"

The Northern Italian man suddenly loses consciousness, eyes closed and body limp.

"Ita-

...Oh, thank God. He's still breathing. I was so scared..." Prussia said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Japan looked at the others and spoke, "Let's go back to our safeplace at once. Prussia, please call the others back. Germany, you carry Italy. Romano, you can help me take care of his injuries."

Romano nodded, then turned his gaze back to his younger brother, "Yeah... Sorry."

"Did Italy... actually beat that monster all on his own? A-And...I thought the frau would be with him..." Prussia asked, now with another wave of worry and fear. He tried to shake the worst of thoughts off his head, but couldn't help but ask, "Japan...you don't think she got..."

"No... Maybe Italy locked her up somewhere safe before he entered this room..." Japan said, looking away. It was time to think of rational reasons. He didn't want to think that the girl was in danger, either. He was very worried as well, but he decides it'd be best to think positive. He trusts _ would know well enough to get through this. _Right... She must be waiting for us, we'll come to her rescue as soon as we can. _"I have faith in her that she will be alright... For now..."

Germany nodded and carried Italy in his arms. "He is severely injured! Let's hurry up!"

* * *

_**To the me...**_

_**To the me who lives at some point in time...**_

_**... and who isn't alone...**_

* * *

**[[[SafeRoom]]]**

* * *

Everyone gathered around Italy lying on the bed, unconscious.

.

"He's covered in injuries..." Germany pointed out, clenching his fists.

France nodded. "He fought alone. It's only natural."

"I heard that it was much bigger than before, but... he wasn't surprised at all, was he?" Canada asked.

Russia furrowed his brows. "You mean he already knew? Or..."

China shook his head and spoke slowly, "We should think... that he's already seen it many times over."

"I agree. That would explain his emotional strength and why he has got used to fighting. I don't think it's something he had from the very beginning." Japan told them.

America looked down. "It feels like something that he accumulated and then finally took shape. But we can't really be sure. We have to hear it from his own mouth."

"What can we do, then? We can't just demand that he tells us everything as soon as he wakes up. Do you really think he would tell us just like that?" Prussia asked them.

"Well...If we don't ask him, we'll never know, will we? I think we should at least try to interrogate him, even if it proves to be fruitless." England suggested.

France shot a look of disbelief at the Brit. "I disagree. If we all approach him when he's already so weary, he'll only feel cornered."

China waved his extremely long sleeves. " So, you want us to keep going like this,with us in the dark and only him in danger? I think we should interrogate him."

"But... have you seen his face? I don't think he'll tell us anything that easily. Why don't we wait a little before we try asking him?" Russia said.

Canada raised an eyebrow and spoke softly, " '_A little_'..? How long would we have to wait, exactly? We don't have much time left. If it's the only way, even if we have to be a little overbearing..."

"Romano, you know something, don't you? Can't you tell us?" America turned to the olive-skinned Italian.

Romano didn't answer, making Spain worry and nudge him, " Roma?"

"...I do know.I don't know everything, but I know more than you do." Romano admitted.

Prussia's eyes widened with a bit of hope, "Then..."

"But, knowing the truth, I also understand my brother's decision. I can't just tell you something that he's so desperate to hide." Romano said sadly, stroking his brother's hair.

England clicked his tongue and spoke, "But this isn't only about him! Other people's lives are at stake! This doesn't involve just us countries. There's a girl named _ in this mansion, as well! We well know that we need to get her out of here... If you won't tell us anything, what are we supposed to do now?"

Romano shook his head, eyes starting to well up again "... Sorry. I don't know, either."

Spain placed a hand on England's shoulder. "Go easy on him. I don't know what to do, either, but you're being too harsh on Romano. Give him a break."

"Potato Head, what do you think? Should we interrogate him, or wait for him totalk when he's ready? I want your opinion." Romano stated, turning to Germany for answers.

Germany looked straight into Romano's eyes, but said nothing.

Japan tilted his head, "Germany?"

"I...I... just want him to wake up first.

More than to interrogate him or to wait...more than anything, I want him to wake up.

And then, if he wants to talk, I will listen, and if he doesn't want to talk, I won't ask him anything.

I think we should try trusting him." Germany told them, taking a shaky breath afterwards.

Prussia nodded in approval of his brother's words. "... Yeah. Even Italy has learnt a thing or two, right? When he wakes up, his opinion will be important."

"Indeed... Let's wait for him to wake up." Japan said, giving a small smile.

Germany suddenly glanced at Italy. "...Hm? Oh. W-wait!"

The rest raised their eyebrows in question.

"... He's going to wake up." Romano announced.

Russia observed the Italian. "Oh. He's awake."

Blinking a few times, Italy looked around the room, looking a bit awestruck.

England went a bit closer to the bed. "Are you okay? Hey."

Japan took a deep breath. "I'm so relieved. Italy, do you know where you are?"

He did not respond at all, causing the other countries to look at each other.

"H-hey... Veneziano?" Romano placed a hand on his brother's head gently.

China tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Italy? What's the matter?" Prussia asked, crouching down at Italy's bedside.

The Northern Italian opened his mouth and croaked out, "...are..."

"I'm sorry, Italy. I couldn't hear you. Can you say that again?" Germany asked, wearing a relieved smile and leaning closer to his friend .

Italy looked at the blonde German and gave a blank stare.

.

_"Who... are... you?"_

.

With that one sentence, Germany's expression changed unexplainably.

.

* * *

**Ita...ly?**

* * *

**.**

* * *

**/Reader's PoV/**

* * *

_Panic and fear was instilled in me as my heart pounded and my eyes widened while the knob was being turned from the other side ever so slowly._

_._

Then, the door was opened.

"Heh."

I froze.

Nikolai only took a glance at the bathroom, not stepping inside."Heh. Looks like I was-"

Footsteps were heard steadily approaching the area. "You bastardos! We have a change of plans. It seems we have underestimated that 'weakling First Player'... He took down one of our important chess pieces." A man said in a low voice, with an Italian accent. It was Luciano.

"Oh? He was actually able to fight against that beast?" Zao asked.

"It seems so. My fratello and the others are heading back to fifth floor. The redheaded American's almost out of control, swearing that he'll put an end that First Player. It's been a hell lot of trouble dragging him back." Luciano replied.

Wait... _fifth floor_?

Nikolai closed the door and seems to have started walking. "I see. Let's head back to our base then and discuss our second plan. Let's go."

After that, I heard them head over to the stairs until the sound of their footsteps faded.

When I could no longer hear their footsteps, I took a deep breath of relief.

Oh my goodness! Good thing I was able to move quickly behind the door! I knew it was like those cliche suspense movies where the main character hides behind the door and goes unnoticed and unscathed...but I always thought those wouldn't work in real life.

Well, now that that's over, I can finally head over to the saferoom. Wiping sweat off my forehead and brushing out my (h/c) locks from my face, I turned the knob and stepped outside of the bathroom.

Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw someone leaning on the wall beside me, his arms crossed.

* * *

**_"Ciao, ragazza."_**


	26. Chapter 10 (Part 1)

**-CHAPTER X: BLOOD (Part 1)-**

/Italy's PoV/

_The only thing I remember vividly, _

_to the point I can't breathe,_

_is when we first came here._

_Even while everyone was trying to think of _

_a way to escape,_

_I did nothing to help... _

_I had to be protected like an idiot..._

_Meanwhile, everyone else was getting hurt._

_And I was alone._

_One after the other,_

_they lost their lives right before my eyes._

_-_

_._

_((Japan and Italy in the Piano room - Japan's death))_

_"Huhu_

_...I'm sorry. It looks like this is the end for me." Japan croaked out, barely able to move._

_"D-Don't say that! Wait just a minute! I'll make bandages out of this flag and stop the bleeding!" I told him, tears running down my cheek._

_Japan did his best effort to shake his head, "No... no, it's hopeless. There is no time._  
_Please, just leave me here and go to the others. Fortunately, they've forgotten...that I came here. Please, leave me..."_

_"Of course I can't do that! Just-I'll make bandages right now! Please!" I frantically tried to search my pockets for at least a piece of cloth._

_"Italy."_

_"Wh-what?"_

_"You don't have your white flag any more, do you? You have already used all of it to _  
_make bandages for everyone else." Japan said. He knows... He knows that..but..._

_"No! I-I do! L-Look! I just made it! I'll help you right now!_

_... No, Japan! I'll do anything! I'll do anything! Just hold on a little longer!" I was pleading him with all I could muster. I just... This...This isn't happening..._

_Japan actually gave me a small smile. "Italy, you are very kind. But even though my_  
_eyes are dulled, I know that you are lying._

_It is so_

_... frustrating._

_Til the end, I wanted us to get_

_...out... together..." At that...Japan gave his last breath._

_._

_-====-====-_

_*****LOST JAPAN*****___

_-====-=====-_

_._

_((Fireplace room with Prussia, Italy, Russia, France, China - Russia, _

_France, China's death))_

_"Sorry. This is where I fall." China accepted, clutching his bloodied arm._

_Russia spoke up, his voice almost cracking, "I'm glad we could make... a new breach, at least."_

_"Come now, Italy, don't cry; just go. If you stay here, that monster is going to show up again." France told me, his once bragged-about clothing now bathed in blood._

_I shook my head, "But-"_

_"...Prussia, will you take care of Italy? He's fast on his feet, but it's hard to fight that _

_monster." France cut in._

_Prussia placed a hand on my shoulder, "I know. I'll do it."_

_I noticed Frenchman slowly closed his eyes upon hearing that, "France?" _

_"...Quickly. Don't let our efforts be in vain. Really, you're so slow on the uptake." _  
_Russia said._

_China nodded weakly, "If you stay here, you're only going to get in the way. Just get _  
_away, quickly."_

_"Let's go, Italy. Let's get out of here." Prussia told me, pulling me to the door. I was_  
_very hesitant, but eventually followed him. I overheard them as I was outside, in front of the door._

_"You really are perfect for the role of villain."_

_"You're quite the actor, yourself."_

_"I have to find... Japan... I got all sluggish here... I forgot again..."_

_"... China?_

_...Haa... Even in this place...I'm all alone yet again..."_

_._

_-===-_

_*****LOST RUSSIA, FRANCE, CHINA*****___

_-====-_

((Third floor room - Italy, America, England, Canada - America,

Canada, and England's death))

"Yeah, we'll be fine, so just get out of here and get us reinforcements or something." America said, patting my back.

I turned to him and spoke, "Wait! In the meantime, even you will get hurt beyond help?"

America shook his head, "It's fine. Besides, I want to do these two a favour and stay  
with them."

"America..." My gaze trailed over to England and Canada's bodies laid on the bed, bloody and bruised. I waited for a few moments to see if their chests would rise and fall...but it didn't. They weren't moving at all.

The American turned to follow my gaze and froze for a moment. America clenched his fists and breathed deeply, "...Haaa

... No, that isn't it. They can't hear me any more, so I'll tell you in all honesty...

**I want to stay with them. Til my last moment.**

**Because they're both very important to me. "**

"And because you're going to... protect me?" I asked softly, guilt stabbing me violently.

America didn't look fazed at all. He even gave his signature grin and gave me a thumbs up. "Haha! Yeah. Even though I can't even move any more. But I'm not making a mistake. And I regret nothing."

My eyes widened at his statement.

The American staggered a bit as he walked over to the bedside, and caressed both England and Canada's heads. I saw his eyes started to water, but he turned to me and spoke softly, "Go for it. I wish you luck."

__

_-====-_

_*****LOST AMERICA, ENGLAND AND CANADA*****___

_-=====-_

_._

((Basement room with Prussia, Germany, Italy - Prussia and Germany's death))

"We got back the key." Prussia told me as he was leaning on the wall for support from the fatigue and the wounds he tried to endure.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks. "Hey, stop risked our lives and went through so much trouble to get it back. You should be happier." Germany told me softly.

"Why did you lie...? You said you were only going to take a look around..." I choked out.

The blonde German looked away, but spoke, "Ah, yes. Well

... it's probably for the same reason you didn't tell us that everyone else is dead."

I was taken aback by his words. "You knew?!"

Prussia gave a light chuckle upon listening to us. "Hahah!

... Well... now, West, why don't we take a little rest? I'm really tired."

Germany turned to his older brother and nodded. "You're right, Prussia. You can go ahead; I'll catch up with you."

"Why?! No! I can't do this any more! I'm staying with you!" I exclaimed.

Germany finally looked at me straight in the eyes and spoke weakly, "Anyone who...disobeys... will run... ten laps"

Prussia slowly slumped his arms to his sides."... Look... if you don't... hurry up...he'll keep adding even more."

I started shaking, not wanting to accept what was happening before my very eyes.

**"Fine! I'll run! I'll run ten laps! I'll run as many laps as you want! But I'll**

**run away!**

**And then Germany...**

**... will have to run**

**... to catch me...**"

Suddenly, I noticed Prussia limply hung his head down.

"Prussi-"

Before I could even try to call out to Prussia...I also saw Germany close his eyes slowly and give...his final breath.

"Ger...ma...ny..."

__

_=-====-===-_

_*****LOST PRUSSIA AND GERMANY*****___

_-========-==_

_._

Even when I followed different paths, no matter what I did, they still left me.

If only I hadn't heard those rumours...

If only I hadn't told America.

No, this is no good. I just have to try harder.

What was I supposed to say next, again? Whose life was going to be in danger next, again? What... do I have to do next?

_How many more times will I be allowed to make mistakes?_  
_How many more times will I have to tell the same lies?_  
_How many more times will I have to watch my friends die?_

I made them so many promises. But when we met next, they had forgotten all about them. We had finally learnt to get along, but when we met next, they were all back to normal.

I don't want them to forget, though. What can I do? What do I have to do? How can I get them all out of here?

Haaa... It's hopeless. It feels like my head is going to burst...

I want to try harder... and harder... but... I'm so very tired...

===~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~===

/Reader's PoV/

_Wiping sweat off my forehead and brushing out my (h/c) locks from my face, I turned the knob and stepped outside of the bathroom.

Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw someone leaning on the wall beside me, his arms crossed.

_

_"Ciao, ragazza."_

_._

I turned to the man who called out to me. Out of all the Italians that could have possibly said that...it just had to be the worst.

"Luciano..." I spoke softly.

His magenta coloured orbs hinted a glint of bloody murder looming over me. Though, his expression looked blank, which scared me more. For a while, he did not speak at all. It looked more like he was thinking of something deeply. Was he planning on how he's going to kill me...? I pray that that's not the case.

He suddenly gave a small chuckle and then spoke, "Heh. I've gotta hand it to you, ragazza... You've got some nerve trying to escape and head over to those First Player bastardos."

I looked down, the feeling of defeat was starting to sink in.

"Hmm? Does this mean that you've become heartless, after all? Mama and Papa not that important to you?~" he asked me, his tone almost playful, but gave me a stab of throbbing guilt.

Turning to face him, I spoke, "No...No...That's not it at all. I would never want my parents to be harmed in any way...but... but...I can't just leave...Italy and the others... Luciano...I... I won't tell them about you guys... Just please...let me see them..."

"Fine." he said simply.

Not expecting him to answer like that, I raised an eyebrow and repeated what he said, "...'Fine'...?"

"That's right, ragazza. I will allow you to go meet with your First Player friends. We  
won't hurt your parents for doing that, either." the auburn haired Italian told me.

I took a step back and stared at him.

"...What's the catch?" I asked.

Once again, his magenta coloured orbs lit up with a strange glint in them. He chuckled, a bit louder this time. "Amazing. Sometimes, you make me feel like I'm talking to a total airhead. But there are really times you actually prove yourself otherwise. Si. There is a catch..."

Tilting my head, I ushered him to continue.

"I will allow you to go meet with your First Player friends, without us having to hurt your parents at all...but if...and _only_ if...

...you help us retrieve something vital."

My eyebrows furrowed, trying to think of what could possibly be needed by these Second Players. I tried coming up with possible items, but it all seemed to be unnecessary...what could it be? Giving up, I inquired, "...Retrieve what?"

"...It's some sort of metal piece."

Crossing my arms, I gave him a look of disbelief. "Luciano...how could I possibly look for something like that if you're just going to give me that vague description."

"Ah. No no no, ragazza~ You won't have a problem finding it."

"Uh-huh. Then tell me where I can get it for you and get this over with..."

He gave a smirk and spoke, "Simple. It's in the hands of those First Players. Currently, I heard it's held by the German First Player. He probably got it from my useless counterpart. It's easy, ragazza. Just take the metal piece and give it back to us, after that, you're free to do whatever you want. You could be on our side, or you could be on theirs. Since I know you'll probably choose the First Player's side, let me tell you this...They're the dying team here. Saying that, you'd still probably go along with them. But we won't care anymore...as long as you give us the what we need."

After hearing and analyzing what he just said, I felt something was off.

"This...metal piece...won't the First Players need it, too? I mean, if they took it with them...it's gotta be important..." I told him slowly.

Luciano clicked his tongue. "You're an airhead, again, ragazza. Siiii. Of course, it's fucking important. Why do you think I'd have you take that from them?!"

Upon realising this, I started to shake my head. "No...then...Then that means I'll...That means I'll have to betray them...?"

"Si. That's exactly what it means."

I looked away. What should I do? If I accept Luciano's offer...I'd be able to go check on the First Players and maybe even help them out...and keep my parents safe at the same time...but at the same time...I'd be taking part in Luciano's plan for the downfall of the First Players. That metal piece might even turn out to be one of those items necessary to leave the mansion... But...if I don't accept...what? I'll just stay at that unknown room without doing anything at all? ...I can't do that either.

How am I supposed to deal with this?

This wasn't part of the original game at all. Not knowing what the possible consequences are to the next steps I'll take...makes me feel so...vulnerable.

I don't have a checkpoint. I can't save before making a decision. I can't restart this game or reload this game.

_...Because this isn't a game._

This isn't the game I thought I knew. This is for real. This is my reality.

And as it is to me and to many...

...reality is scary.

"...But...they'll get mad at me for taking away something that could've been of use them...They'll get mad...at me..." I stated, my eyes starting to water.

Luciano turned around, not facing me, and spoke darkly. "Si. But that is no longer my problem, ragazza."

Should I?

Should I not?

What is the answer?

If I decide now...I'll probably regret this later on...

...but it's just like how it usually is when we make decisions, right?

So...?

"...So, ragazza? Will you accept or will you not? Time is ticking away."

I blinked hard to prevent tears from trickling down my cheeks. Gathering enough courage to make a final and firm decision, I spoke up.

"Alright... I'll do it."

Silence fell upon us for a moment before Luciano spoke, "Hm. Then, it's settled. Check your phone."

I was confused for a while, but followed his order. Carefully pulling out my phone from my pocket, I looked at the screen:

.

_1 TEXT MSG_

_Ciao._

.

"You have received my text message, si? Save that number. I might call you every now and then or give you a message, when I do that update me on whether or not you have retrieved the item. The rest of the details are to follow." he said monotonously.

Even though he couldn't see me, I nodded anyway.

Luciano slowly turned to me and spoke, "You may go, now, raga-"

Before he even got to finish that sentence, the door a few steps behind him slammed open. From it, a large, grey monster emerged.

"L-Luciano..! Behind you!" I exclaimed.

The monster suddenly lunged towards us, but Luciano moved swiftly enough to get us out of the way. We somehow stumbled down on the floor, a few feet away from the creature. "T-Thanks." I said shakily.

"Che. These fucking creatures started acting up crazy ever since their main model got eliminated by that First Player." Luciano spat out, obviously irritated by the monster. He turned to me and spoke, "The First Players are somewhere on the second floor. Just get what we need. Go."

"What about you? That monster's dangerous!" I told him.

He gave a sarcastic laugh and a smirk. "Ragazza, you well know that _I'm_ the dangerous one here."

Somehow, even if it was uncalled for in this circumstance, I found myself giggling at his statement. I started walking away at a safe distance from Luciano and the creature.

In a split second, their fight began. Luciano started throwing his knives skillfully at the grey monster. The monster gets hit, but manages to retaliates. The fight was going well in favour of Luciano...but then, the monster pulls up a fast one and hits the auburn haired Italian's side. It seems as though Luciano was critically hurt.

"Ugghh..." he coughed out.

"Luciano!" I yelled. Panicking, I waved my hand in front of me to check if I could monitor his stats. ...And I could. I saw his HP bar was dangerously low.

Rummaging through my bag quickly, I took a swiss knife and two riceballs. I ran closer to where they were.

Not really as trained with knives as Luciano, I tried my best to at least hit the monster with my weapon.

"Take this!" I called out as I threw the swiss knife at the creature. Miraculously, I hit its forehead, causing the Thing to recoil a little.

Luciano approached me. "You...you hit it... but what the heck are you doing?"

"Saving your ass. Now, here, eat this." I told him, handing him the two riceballs.

He gave me a confused and almost sounded irritated. "I appreciate you hitting it a bit, but now is not the fucking time for a picnic."

"No, you idiot. Just eat it. You know that I know how this game works. Now, eat the freaking riceballs already!" I ordered him. He was irritably hesitant, but started munching on it anyway. As soon as he finished it, I checked his HP bar on the screen. It went back to full after he ate the two riceballs as I have told him.

"...What..." he muttered under his breath.

I grabbed his shoulders to make him face the direction where the monster was starting to walk. "Yes. Cool. I know. It's going to be on active attack mode later, so you better work your knife-throwing prowess there." I said.

Out of nowhere, he suddenly had more knives in between his fingers. How the hell does he do that? I backed up a bit and watched as Luciano started attacking the monster with his switchblades, with his newly regained strength, he was able to hit with increased precision and accuracy. The creature gave its attacks here and there, but he was able to dodge it. After several exchanges of hits, I noticed Luciano looking fatigued.

"...Luciano! Are you alright? Can you still fight?" I asked him in a worried tone.

He was silent for a few moments when he answered slowly, "...Si."

With one final hit against the monster, the Thing finally disappears.

I hurriedly rushed over to Luciano, who leaned against the wall, panting and his eyes closed. Seeing that he was fine overall, I breathed a sigh of relief. "You're okay.

That's a relief. I thought the monster was going to give another critical attack a while back. Good thing you quickly evaded it."

He didn't say anything.

Uncomfortable with the silence, I took a few steps back. What am I doing? For a second there, I was like all friendly with Luciano. Goodness, he must be completely irritated.

"Why?" he asked in a low voice.

I creased my forehead. "Huh?"

He opened his eyes and grabbed both my shoulders. "Why didn't you leave? Why did you stay here and help me? Why...were you showing concern...? I don't understand you at all!" he said in a frustrated voice.

Bravely, I raised my hands over the tan Italian's cheeks and pinched them.

"For a murderous, knife-throwing, smart guy...you're pretty slow on this. Of course I couldn't leave! I saw you got hit by that grey alien-like monster. I had to do something! I can't just leave you there! What if something happened?..." I answered.

His frustrated look worsened. "That's the thing! Did you ever think that it would have been more advantageous to you if you just left me there to get injured or to get hurt? Why did you-"

"I care. You idiot... I told you, even before I met you guys in real life, I was actually a fan of the 2Ps. Sure, you guys have been total asshats kidnapping me and my parents and trying to get rid of the 1Ps...but I really think that it can still be worked out! We have words. We can use them. I want to leave this mansion...without anyone have to lose their life. I don't want anyone of us to die here. First Players,Second Players, my parents-anyone! Sometimes, I don't understand it myself, either. But... I just... I just...think that if things are going to be settled...it shouldn't be here. You can still have a life better than this...if you just-"

"Enough." Luciano cut me off.

I let go of him, as he did of me. "Luciano..."

He turned away from me and spoke monotonously, "It's time for you to go there, ragazza. Don't forget our deal."

"Lu-"

"Go!"

Hesitantly, I turned around and headed over to the stairs. Before I turned to the corridor to my left, I sneaked a peek back to where that auburn haired Italian stood.

_**There I saw that Luciano was still there, leaning on the wall, thinking deeply.**_


End file.
